A new hero
by Arlux1313
Summary: My story of a duelilst who has both amazing protagonist luck, and specializes with two of the most popular monster types. Dragons and Spellcasters. Rated T for some mild language. And beware, there are some changes to cannon I made.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright, my turn." Yuki chanced a glance around the stadium. Yuki Hyoudou was a young man of average height, his dark hair was a little wild, and looked to have teal highlights that matched his teal colored eyes. Yuki wore a dark blue shirt with a dark coat over that, which looked to be some sort of school uniform. He also had dark pants and shoes on, possibly also a part of the uniform. He was currently one of the last people to take his practical exam to enroll in Duel Academy, and a lot of eyes were on him. The 16 year old did not particularly like crowds, and this was a rather large crowd due to how many applicants had already completed their practical duel.

To make matters worse for Yuki, his exam proctor had a Buster Blader on his side of the field. Which was the absolute worst card Yuki could be facing with the deck he was currently dueling with. Even worse for him, he had no monsters on his own field. Meaning that if he didn't summon a monster now, with only 2000 LP left, Yuki would lose the duel, and be unable to get into Duel Academy. He needed a comeback and he needed to make it now.

"Draw!" Yuki's eyes went wide, and a smile formed on his face. "I play the card I just drew: Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards!" Yuki's smile grew, when he saw the two monsters he needed he needed. The exact monsters that could help him win this duel. "Okay, I'll summon this, my Drago Warrior in attack mode!"

Yuki's summoned monster Drago Warrior resembled a bipedal dragon clad in armor, with a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. The monster had 1600 attack and 1400 defense. "And that ends my turn."

The proctor opposite Yuki shook his head in dismissal. "Shameful, your monster is a dragon-type monster. Which means my Buster Blader gains an additional 500 attack, bringing his total up to 3100! And it's my turn, so Buster Blader attacks now!"

"Oh no he doesn't!" Yuki placed the second monster he had drawn due to Pot of Greed onto his duel disk, summoning it in defense mode. "On the turn Drago Warrior is attacked, if I have a Drago defender in my hand, I can special summon him to the field!"

Drago Defender looked similar to Drago Warrior in that it was a bipedal dragon in armor, only its shield was far larger. The monster had 1000 attack, and 2000 defense. "At the cost of half of its defense points, I can automatically end the battle phase!"

Yuki's exam proctor smiled. "Well played applicant, now what will you do that it's your turn?"

"You're about to find out! Draw!" Yuki took the next card off the top of his deck, and his eyes went wide. He'd drawn Pollymarization. Just the card he needed. "I'll play the spell card Pollymarization! Fusing my Drago Warrior and my Drago Defender together to summon a much more powerful monster! Rise, my Drago Knight!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped in awe at Yuki's move. The fusion monster like the two others Yuki had tributed in order to summon it also resembled a bipedal dragon. The difference between the three monsters, was Drago Knights armor was a bright gold in color. The monster had 2900 attack and 2800 defense.

"And while I know his base attack isn't enough to beat your Buster Blader, Drago Knight's effect will more than make up for that." Yuki explained, his confidence growing now that he had one of his best monsters on the field, and was about to win, his discomfort with large crowds was beginning to ebb away. "Like your Buster Blader, my Drago Knight gains attack strength revolving around dragon monsters. Though unlike your monster, mine gets an additional 300 attack for every dragon monster in the graveyard … and it's not just limited to my graveyard, so that means there's a total of eight dragon monsters, giving Drago Knight a 2400 boost to his attack!"

The proctor's eyes went wide with shock when he saw Drago Knight's attack boost to 5300. "A-and I only have 2000, the same as you…"

"Meaning, since you don't have anything in your back row, this duel's over! Drago Knight, destroy Buster Blader!" Yuki ordered the holographic monster, who swung its blade making the proctor's monster explode, and the audience cheer. Yuki had won the duel, and gained entrance to Duel Academy.

* * *

"Well fought." A young man around the same age as Yuki said as a way of greeting. His dark hair looked to be combed back into a single point, he had on a white coat with a dark shirt, pants, and shoes, and he had his hand outstretched for Yuki to shake. "Bastion Misawa."

"Yuki Hyoudou." Yuki smiled, taking Bastion's hand in his own. "I was terrified when that proctor summoned Buster Blader."

"Yes, a card one truly needs to watch out for when running a dragon deck." Bastion said thoughtfully, and Yuki had a feeling Bastion was planning a way to defeat Yuki's deck as they spoke. "But you still managed to pull through and win in the end."

"I guess luck was on my side." Yuki replied, as another person stepped up to them.

"Luck or not." The newcomer began. "A win's a win!"

"And who are you?" Yuki asked the newcomer. He looked to be dressed the same as Yuki was, the only difference was his undershirt was red instead of blue. His eyes and hair were a brown color, and his hair looked to be rather messy and styled to a point towards the back, slightly similar to Bastion's.

"Jaden Yuki." He greeted with a laid back smile. "And I'm planning on being the next King of Games … well after I ace the entrance exam that is."

Yuki and Bastion exchanged awkward looks. "That could be a problem. I believe Yuki and I were the last two duels of the day."

Though Bastion was proven wrong moments later when an announcement over the PA system called for Jaden to come to exam field number 4. Both Yuki and Bastion looked towards one another and simply shrugged, the two had simply assumed Jaden had caught a lucky break. At least until they saw that his opponent looked to be one of the teachers at Duel Academy.

* * *

"Okay, I'm impressed." Yuki said to Jayden as the two along with Bastion, and a smaller boy with teal colored hair named Cyrus boarded the choppers that would take them to Duel Academy. "I've never seen anyone play Elemental Heroes that well before. You just may be the second best student at Duel Academy."

"Hey, whaddaya mean 'second best'?" Jayden asked laughing. "If I'm second best, who's gonna be better than me?"

Yuki laughed, taking a seat near a window after setting his bags with the other new students. "Me."


	2. Chapter 2

Yuki heard Cyrus groan as he approached the Slifer Red dorms. "This looks more like an outhouse rather than a dorm."

"Aw come on." Yuki said lightly clapping Cyrus' shoulder. "It's not so bad, place has a lot of potential."

"Yeah Cy, lighten up." Jaden chimed in, as the three ascended the stairs to the dorm's second floor. "This place'll make a killer pad for our first year here."

"If you two say so…" Cyrus still looked skeptical, before opening the first door after reaching the second floor.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit, I'm gonna go drop my stuff off in my dorm." Yuki gave Jaden and Cyrus a small wave, before opening the door leading to his own dorm, which just happened to be next to Jaden and Cyrus' dorm. Yuki's dorm looked like a small single room apartment. On the far left side of the room were two desks, and opposite the desks was what looked to be a triple bunk bed. "Small space, triple bunks make sense."

Yuki made his way inside, taking note of the small closet and kitchen that was immediately on his right when he walked inside. He set his bag down at the foot of the beds, also noting that all three bunks were empty. "Roomies must be out right now, hope they don't mind me taking the bottom bunk."

Yuki stretched out on the mattress, and pulled out his academy issue pda. The screen flickered to life showing the academy logo: DA in three colors. Red, Blue, and Yellow. From what was explained to him, these devices allowed a student to do more than just contact others. It allowed students to obviously view their homework assignments, set dates for upcoming events, and to an extent kept a record of what students dueled with what type of deck. It also kept track of the duels one had on the island, and rewarded academy currency called Duel Points to the winner, depending on both the decisiveness of the win, and the rank of the opponent according to what dorm they were in.

Yuki pressed the envelope icon on his pda, dialed in some info, and selected video call. The screen went black, and 'please wait' flashed in orange letters for several seconds before someone on the other end answered.

"Hey sis." Yuki smiled at his twin. She looked just like Yuki, dark hair with the same teal highlights, and the same teal colored eyes.

"Hey Yuki." Yumei gave her twin brother a smile, that didn't fool her brother one bit. He knew Yumei was jealous, and was trying to hide it. "How's Duel Academy?"

"I just got here, but it's great." Yuki sat up, and swung his legs over his bunk. "They placed me in Slifer Red though."

Yumei laughed, feeling slightly better at the color of the jacket that Yuki held up for her to see. "Red was never your color Yu."

"Tell me about it." Yuki replied, setting the jacket back on his bed. "And don't feel bad sis, the doctor said that it's only another week. You'll be here before you know it!"

"Yeah…" Yumei sighed softly. "I kinda wish I could have gone to your practical match though. How bad did you freeze up?"

"...enough to let my points drop to half." Yuki admitted, looking away as Yumei laughed again.

"Oh man, you and large crowds Yu."

"Worse than that, my proctor had a Buster Blader on the field." Yumei sucked in air through her teeth at the news.

"And you still won?" Yumei asked, despite the obviousness of the question.

"Two turns later, with Drago Knight." Yuki replied, a sense of pride welling up in him right before a terrified scream came from Jaden and Cyrus' dorm catching both twins attention.

"Yu, what was that?" Yumei asked as her brow knitted together.

"I'm gonna find out. I'll talk to you later sis!" Yuki waved goodbye to his twin sister, before hitting the red button on his pda to end the video call. Seconds later, Yuki had dashed out of his own dorm and into Jaden and Cyrus'. "Guys what-?"

Yuki was met with an angry glare from a large student lying in the top bunk. He had a round face, a large nose, and his hair was styled to resemble that of a koala bear. Yuki let out a similar terrified scream that was mixed in with Jaden and Cyrus'.

* * *

"Lemmie break it down for you." The large koala looking boy Chumley Huffington began as his arms crossed. "Students here are divided up into three dorms. Obelisk Blue students are at the top. They're in that dorm mostly because of grades or connections. Ra Yellow students are in the middle. They're talented students with a lot to prove, and a lot of room to grow. Then there's us, Slifer Reds. The red wonders…"

"Red wonders." Jaden parroted, as a smile formed on his face. "That sounds cool."

"As in." Chumley huffed in dismissal. "I _wonder_ how losers like us ever made into the academy in the first place."

Yuki shook his head. "That's a pessimistic way of viewing it. Look, red may not be my favorite color in the world, but being a Slifer isn't so bad. In fact it's probably the best thing that could happen to us."

"Oh yeah?" Chumley asked, his arms still crossed.

"Yeah." Yuki answered. "Think about it, Slifers may be the lowest ranked students at the school-"

"But there's nowhere to go but up from here!" Jaden finished, high-fiving Yuki.

* * *

Later on in the day, Yuki was exploring the island on his own wondering if he should continue using his main dragon themed deck, or the one he had made for his older brother to use in Battle City. He was so wrapped up in thought, he didn't realize where he was going until he nearly ran into someone else.

"Oh-sorry about that!" Yuki apologized, taking several steps back from the person he had almost run into. This person stood a head taller than Yuki, had wavy brown hair that parted in the middle, dark green eyes, and was dressed in a blue jacket, white pants, and dark shoes or boots.

"It's fine." The Obelisk said smiling. "Just try to watch where you're going from now on."

"No promises." Yuki chuckled, which earned him a smile from the Obelisk student.

"Say, you're Yuki Hyodou right?" The Obelisk asked curiously. "You run a dragon theme deck don't you?"

"Okay … just how did you know that?" Yuki asked cautiously.

The Obelisk held his hands slightly out in front of him in a placating manner. "Take it easy, I was at the practical exams. I'm a second year here at the academy, my name is Kai."

"Nice to meet you." Yuki shook Kai's hand, finding the older student had a strong grip.

"Say, you have your duel disk on you?" Kai asked, which made Yuki's stomach jolt.

"Uh, y-yeah why?"

Kai smiled, slipping his own duel disk onto his left arm. "How about a friendly duel. I like running dragons the same as you, and I just put together a new deck. Care to be the first one to test it out?"

Yuki felt a sense of unease wash over him. This guy was an Obelisk Blue, they were at the top of the food chain, this guy was in his second year here, _and_ this would be Yuki's first official duel at the academy. On the other hand, this guy did say he wanted to test out a new deck, so that meant he hadn't figured out all the problems with it yet.

"Ah, why not." Yuki said, after a moment. He reached into his bag, and slipped his academy issue duel disc onto his left wrist.

"Just because this is a new deck, don't expect me to go easy on you." Kai said smiling.

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Kai-LP 4000**

"I'll go first." Kai announced, and drew a sixth card from the top of his deck. "And I'll place two cards face down, and I'll summon this: Armed Dragon Level 3 in attack mode!"

The holoraphic monster was an orange and brown colored dragon, with and underbite jaw line, boxing glove-like claws, and spikes on its shoulders and trailing up along the center of its chest. **Atk-1200 Def-900**.

"Okay then, my draw." _I need to be careful about those two cards he has face down. But I also can't let him bring out Armed Dragon Level 5. That dragon needs to go._ "Okay Kai, two can play this game. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4!"

Yuki's monster more resembled a metallic looking phoenix than a dragon. **Atk-1600 Def-1000**. "But I'm not done there, I'll mirror you, and set two cards face down, and attack you with Horus! Destroy that Armed Dragon!"

Horus let out a stream of black fire from its beak that engulfed Armed Dragon Level 3, and caused the monster do shatter in an explosion of pixels which dropped Kai's Life Points by 400.

 **Kai-LP 3600**.

"Not bad." Kai smiled. "But now you've triggered my trap! Call of the Haunted! Now come back Armed Dragon!"

"Knew it was too easy…" Yuki said, as Armed Dragon came back to Kai's field. "But before my turn ends, since Horus inflicted damage to you, I can tribute him, and summon Horus Level 6!"

The small metallic phoenix dissolved, only for a larger more ferocious looking version of the same monster to rise in its place. **Atk-2600 Def-1600**.

"Very impressive, but now it's my turn. Draw! And now I'll tribute my Armed Dragon, to summon Armed Dragon Level 5!" Kai's smaller dragon vanished, and was replaced by a far more bulked up and fierce looking dragon. **Atk-2400 Def-1700**. "Next I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light! Now neither of us can attack for the next three turns. And that brings my turn to an end."

"Okay then, my turn." Yuki drew the top card from his deck. "I summon Drago Warrior in attack mode." The familiar bipedal armored dragon appeared on Yuki's field, growling menacingly at Kai. **Atk-1600 Def-1400**. "Now, Horus attack Armed Dragon!" Yuki declared, making Kai's eyes go wide.

"Hold on, you can't attack! Swords of Revealing light is still up!"

Yuki smirked shaking his head. "It's part of Horus' effect. He's not affected by spell cards my opponent plays! Horus, destroy Armed Dragon!"

Horus' black fire blasted Armed Dragon Level 5 into small pixels the same way Level 3 had been destroyed, with the only difference being the force of the blast.

 **Kai-LP 3200**

"And now, thanks to Horus' effect, I can summon the most powerful variant of Horus! So rise, Horus Level 8!" The strongest form of Horus rose from the ground, flew around both Yuki and Kai before landing behind Yuki. **Atk-3000 Def-1800**.

"Alright, now it's my turn." Kai drew and smiled. "Now I'll play Card of Sanctity. Now we can each draw until we have 6 cards in our hand."

 _This isn't good, he's clearly got something sinister in mind…_

"Now I'll summon Lord of D." A rather menacing looking man with a dark cape and dragon skull shoulder pauldrons and helmet materialized in front of Kai. **Atk-1200 Def-800**. "Then I give him the spell card Flute of Summoning Dragon! With this, I can special summon two more dragon monsters! So say hello to another Armed Dragon Level 5, and Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Yuki's eyes went wide. He only knew of one person on earth who had a Blue eyes, and he'd dueled him before. Yet here he was staring down yet another Blue Eyes.

Armed Dragon Level 5 **Atk-2400 Def-1600**

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000 Def-2500**

"You still have another turn before you can attack me." Yuki reminded, only for Kai to smirk. "Oh no…"

"Oh yeah, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy my swords spell card. Now I'm free to attack, but I think I'm gonna do something else instead. I'll send the second Blue Eyes in my hand to the Graveyard, and use Armed Dragon's effect to destroy Horus."

Yuki's eyes went wide. "No! Horus!" The dragon let out a cry of anguish before it exploded.

"And now, Armed Dragon, attack Drago Warrior!" Kai ordered his monster.

"Not happening, I special summon Drago Defender in defense mode! See if Drago Warrior is the only monster on the field, if he's attacked I can summon Drago Defender. At the cost of half of it's defense points, Drago Defender can automatically end the battle phase!"

The bipedal large shielded dragon appeared in front of its partner monster, blocking Armed Dragon's attack with said shield. **Atk-1000 Def-2000-1000**.

Kai was smiling brightly. "You're good Yuki, I'm surprised someone of your skill is only a Slifer."

"Well you saw my practical duel, I have a thing with crowds." Yuki explained as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "They really put me off."

"Well we'll have to work on that, but for now it's your turn." Kai said, his smile still on his face.

"Right then, my draw. And first off, I'll play this: Harpy's Feather Duster, knocking out your back row!" A large gust of wind shattered Kai's back row, making the face down cards explode in a flurry of pixels. "Then I'll activate my spell card Monster Reborn, bringing back my Horus Level 6! But he's not staying around, because I have the card Level Up! Now I can ignore summoning conditions and special summon Horus Level 8!"

Once again Horus' strongest form rose onto Yuki's side of the field, roaring at Kai's monsters clearly angered at having been destroyed by Armed Dragon. **Atk-3000 Def-1800**

"Now I'll activate Polymarization, and fuse Drago Warrior and Drago Defender, and summon Drago Knight!" At Yuki's call, the golden armored bipedal dragon rose to stand by Horus. **Atk-2900 Def-2800**. "And since you were at the practical exam, you know that with each dragon monster in the graveyard, Drago Knight get an additional 300 attack!"

Drago Knight **Atk-4700 Def-2800**

"Oh this isn't good…" Kai said nervously.

"It gets worse for you." Yuki said, taking another card from his hand. "I have this! Alexandrite Dragon!"

Alexandrite Dragon was a large bipedal dragon with bright jewel like scales all over its body. Atk-2000 Def-100. "Alexandrite Dragon attack Lord of D!"

Yuki's newest dragon let a bright stream of fire out of its mouth, engulfing Lord of D, and making the spellcaster shatter.

Kai-LP 2800

"Now Horus, destroy Armed Dragon!" At Yuki's order, Horus shot its black fire at Kai's dragon, engulfing it and causing the powerful monster to explode.

Kai-LP 2000

Drago Knight Atk-5000 Def 2800

"Now go Drago Knight! Destroy Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Drago Knight leapt high into the air, its blade raised above its head. The golden armored dragon swung its weapon down, splitting the powerful monster in half before exploding in a cloud of pixels.

Kai-LP 0000

Kai smiled, applauding Yuki as their duel disks deactivated. "Impressive, that deck of yours was really well constructed."

Yuki laughed nervously, not noticing before that a large crowd of Obelisk Blue students had gathered around all with awe struck looks on their faces. "A-are you sure that was a new deck? It felt like you've dueled with it before."

"Just constructed it a few days ago." Kai chuckled, shaking Yuki's hand in congratulations. "But that's quite powerful deck you put together. I'll have to duel you with my actual deck sometime."

"Well that's gonna have to wait." A female's voice behind Yuki made him jump in surprise. He wheeled about, and his cheeks flushed with color. A very attractive girl about the same age as him was standing a few paces away. Her hair was a sandy blond in color, her eyes seemed to be a light hazel, and like the majority of the students surrounding them, she had on an Obelisk Blue uniform. "The academy welcome dinner is about to start."

"Uh-oh, I'd better get back to my dorm! It was nice meeting you Kai!" Yuki called, running off in the direction of the Slifer dorm.

"Hey wait!" The attractive girl called after Yuki. "What's your name!?"

"Yuki Hyodou!" He answered, continuing to run towards the dorms. "What's yours!?

"Alexis Rhodes!"


	3. Chapter 3

Dr. Crowler was going over his lesson plans for his first lecture of the new school year, though he was not happy about having to continue teaching the Slifers for the enth year in a row. Especially one of the newest Slifer students.

"Curse that Jaden Yuki…" He growled while grinding his teeth. "I'll teach him to make a fool out of-" Crowler was cut off when he heard a knock at the door. "Ah, yes come in."

Crowlers office door opened, revealing Kai was on the other side. "Excuse me Dr."

"Kai, what brings you here?" Crowler asked, his fingers lacing together underneath his pointed chin. "Classes don't start for another few hours."

"I wanted to talk to you about one of the new students." Kai explained, as he approached Crowler, closing the door behind him. "His name is Yuki Hyodou, he's in the Slifer dorm."

Crowler's eyes narrowed, and he uttered an unmistakable growl of annoyance. As the headmaster of the Obelisk Blue dorms, Crowler hated everything to do with the Slifers. "What about him?"

"I don't think he should be in the Slifer dorms." Kai said, getting straight to his point.

Crowler narrowed his eyes curiously. "You have my attention Kai, continue."

"I dueled him yesterday before the welcome dinner for the new students. He has a really strong deck, and knows how to play it." Kai said, before continuing. "I was at the practical exams the same as you Dr. We both saw how skilled he is."

"Yes, I know the young man you're talking about." Crowler said. He had stopped grinding his teeth, and the irritated growl had ceased as well. "But I sense there's more to this story…"

"There is." Kai took a breath before continuing. "Like I said, we dueled yesterday as I wanted to test out my new deck. Yuki beat me soundly without losing a single point. He's got a lot of skill, far too much skill to be placed in the Slifer dorms."

"Are you telling me, you lost to a Slif-" Crowler began, before Kai cut him off.

"We both know that's not the point Dr." Kai slightly raised his voice, cutting Crowler off. "Yuki's incredibly skilled, his only problem is crowds. He gets nervous around large crowds."

Crowler sighed, rubbing his eyelids with his fingertips. "Alright Kai, I'll look into why this Yuki was place into Slifer. In the meantime, if you want to take him under your wing and help him get over his phobia of crowds be my guest. Just don't be late for the first lesson of the year."

* * *

Yuki had gotten to class early, along with a handful of several others. He was currently looking over the deck of another Slifer, who liked to play an insect deck. "Okay, this is a good strategy here. Needle Worm will force your opponent to mil 5 of their cards, and your Man-Eater Bug will destroy any monster on your opponent's field. But, you do need some added protection to bring out your bigger monsters."

"Well what do you reccomend?" The Slfer asked. He was slightly shorter than Yuki, and had dark hair that fell in front of his eyes.

Yuki thought for a moment. "Try DNA Surgery, that will switch all monsters summoned to insects, and play Insect Barrier which will prevent you from being attacked by insect monsters. That should give you enough time to bring out one of your stronger monsters, like your Insect Queen or either of your Greath Moth cards."

"A good strategy." Bastion supplied from the seat next to Yuki. "And your Insect Queen will grow stronger each time she inflicts damage, due to her effect of becoming stronger with each insect monster on the field, and supplying you with insect tokens."

"And." Alexis supplied from the seat just behind Yuki. "You can use Pinch Hopper and Eradicating Erisol to bring out Insect Queen faster."

"Oh by the way Yuki." Bastion began, giving the Slifer a curious look. "Where are Jaden and Cyrus?"

Yuki tilted his head. "I'm not sure. I knocked on their door, but there was no response. My guess is they're still asleep."

"Well they'll be late if they don't hurry." Alexis said, looking disapproving at this news.

"Yeah, tell me about it…" Yuki sighed. "It wouldn't be good for them, if they ended up getting detention on their first-oh never mind."

As if on cue, Jaden, Cyrus, and Chumley ran into the classroom. All three looked rather winded, especially Chumley who looked like he had just run a marathon. Though with his body type, a little exercise may be good for him.

* * *

Classes on the first day consisted of dueling history and philosophy, which was taught by the head of Slifer, Professor Lymen Banner. He explained to the class that the game of Duel Monsters was originally played in ancient Egypt with stone tablets instead of cards.

' _Only half true Professor.'_ Yuki thought to himself as Professor Banner continued his lecture on the ancient games. Having bared witness to Pharoah Atem's memories, Yuki knew something else about the game of Duel Monsters. That there were creatures that were not summoned by the stone tablets, but by the person's own life force. However, thinking it would be incredibly rude to interrupt Professor Banner's lecure, especially on the first day, Yuki did not speak up about his point.

Then there was Dr. Crowler's class. The head of Obelisk taught the finer points of the modern game of Duel Monsters: Attributes, monster types, the difference between normal and flip-effects, dueling strategies ect…

"Now then." Crowler began, glancing at Jaden who like in every class that day, had fallen asleep, and giving the Slifer a disgusted and offended look. "Who can tell me what O.T.K stands for, and what it consists of?"

Crowler cast a look around the class, a smile formed on his face when he saw all of his Obelisk students had their hands raised. He gave a nod of approval to several of the Ra's, and a shocked expression formed on his face when he saw one of the Slifer's had their hand in the air. "Oh, very well. Please answer Mr…?"

"Hyoudou Sir." Yuki said getting to his feet. "Yuki Hyoudou."

' _Interesting … so this is the Slifer student Kai mentioned earlier this morning. The circumstances of his chosen dorm are interesting, but let's see how well he answers this question.'_ Crowler thought before speaking again. "Very well, continue Mr. Hyoudou."

"O.T.K stands for; one turn kill. It's a strategy for winning the duel in one decisive turn." Yuki paused for a moment, before continuing his explenation. "The most common way is to reduce your opponent's points to zero with a powerful monster. Say someone uses … I don't know … Power Bond in conjunction with three Cyber Dragons. But that strategy comes with a risk. Someone could activate Threatening Roar, or use Mirror Force, Magic Cyllinder, Draining Shield, or Negate Attack."

There was a lot of soft murmuring around the class, most notably coming from the Obelisk section of the classroom, before Yuki continued. "Exodia is another way, but that's really more of an instant win rather than a one turn kill. Last Turn is a decent way to score a one turn kill, especially if you back your own monster up with quick play attack boosts like Battle Fusion."

"Alright Mr. Hyoudou, you've made your point." Crowler said, though he was trying his hardest to not sound impressed. ' _Kai was right. This boy should certainly not be a Slifer. I'll have to talk with him after class and ask him why for myself.'_

Unbeknownst to Dr. Crowler and the rest of the class, they were being watched by two other students both dressed in Obelisk Blue uniforms. One male and one female.

"Okay, so this kid knows what he's talking about." The female Obelisk said. She had dark purple eyes, and her hair which matched the color of her eyes fell almost to the middle of her back. "I don't see the trouble with crowds you mentioned earlier."

"It's when he duels." Kai said, as Crowler angrily woke up Jaden and Cyrus. Beginning to berate them for sleeping in his class. "I saw it at the practical exam, and he kinda froze up after our duel the other day."

"So what do you want me to do about it?" The female asked, looking slightly annoyed. "I don't think I'll be of any help here."

"What I want you to do, is duel him after classes let out for the day." Kai said simply, making his friend look at him like he was crazy.

"Are you kidding me? With the deck I play, I'll crush him."

"Look, I just want to help him get over his phobia of crowds when he duels. I doubt it would matter to Yuki weather he won or lost against you, so long as this worked." Kai said, making the female Obelisk sigh.

"Fine Kai, but if this backfires, don't blame me."

* * *

"Mr. Hyoudou, I'd like a word with you in private." Crowler said so only Yuki would hear, as the rest of the class got up to leave the rather large classroom.

Yuki gulped nervously. His first day here, and already a teacher was holding him behind. Was this because of his answer about one turn kills?

"It's been brought to my attention that even though you're in Slifer, you clearly shouldn't be." Dr. Crowler began, his fingers lacing together under his chin. "Care to explain why that is?"

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief. So he wasn't in trouble about his answer after all. "It's because of my twin sister Yumei. We planned on entering Duel Academy together … but she was involved in that bullet train accident in Domino City."

Dr. Crowler visibly winced. "Yes I heard about that. Thankfully there were no fatalities, though there were plenty of injuries. And your twin sister was one of them?"

"Yes sir." Yuki answered and continued. "You see, I requested to be in Slifer because Yumei couldn't make it to the practical exams. Allow me to explain a further Sir. Chancellor Sheppard agreed to let Yumei attend the academy, as she's scheduled to be released from the hospital by the end of the week. However since she couldn't make it to the practicals, I felt it wouldn't be fair if I was placed in Ra, as that's only one promotion duel away from becoming an Obelisk. And I do know how things work on the island, that all new students have to be placed into Slifer and work their way up."

Crowler's eyes widened in realization. "You asked to be put in Slifer for the sake of your sister?"

"Yes Sir." Yuki answered. "I didn't want her to feel like I was already ahead of her by being a Ra. So until after Yumei get's here, I'm not taking a promotion to Ra or Obelisk."

Crowler gave Yuki a very rare smile. "You have a good heart Mr. Hyoudou. I expect great things from you."

* * *

"Yuki." Hearing his name as he exited the class, made Yuki start in surprise. He whirled to his right to see Kai approaching him. "There you are, come with me."

"H-hey wait, where are we going Kai?" Yuki asked, as Kai grabbed his arm and pulled him off somewhere.

"We're gonna work on that problem with crowds you seem to have." Kai said, causing Yuki's face to blanch.

"Oh no… Kai you aren't thinking what I think you are…"

To Yuki's horror, Kai was thinking _exactly_ what Yuki was afraid Kai was thinking. The older Obelisk had led him to the academy's dueling arena, which was currently packed with people. And standing in the middle of the arena, on a slightly raised platform was the same Obelisk female Kai had been speaking with about dueling Yuki earlier.

"Kai…" Yuki moaned, his face now drained of most of its color.

"Relax Yuki." There was a smile on Kai's face as he spoke, and led him onto the platform in the middle of the arena.

"Yeah… easy for you to say. You don't have a phobia of large crowds." Yuki said, feeling like the best thing to do would be to tuck tail and run.

"Kai, this is a bad idea. He looks like he's about to pass out." There was a note of sympathy in the female Obelisk's voice.

Kai sighed. "Yuki, right now I want you focus on one thing only."

"What's that…?" Yuki asked, as his legs began to shake.

"Just focus on this duel." Kai said, giving Yuki an encouraging smile. "It's not about beating her today, as she's not your true opponent."

"Oh jeez, thanks Kai." The female Obelisk scowled playfully at Kai.

"Look." Kai said, waving away her words. "Just focus on dueling her and that alone. Think you can do that?"

"I guess we'll find out…" Yuki replied shakily.

Kai chuckled lightly clapping Yuki on the shoulder. "Tell you what, I'll throw in one of by Blue-Eyes if you can get through this."

Yuki looked at Kai like he was crazy. "Are you-?"

"Oh yeah." Kai smiled.

"Hey, you two done talking? Because I'm getting bored over here."

"Y-yeah…" Yuki said, taking a deep breath and slipping his duel disk on. "Whenever you are… I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."

"It's Fujin Hibiki." She replied activating her duel disk. "Now are you ready or not?"

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Fujin-LP 4000**

"Alright, since I was forced into this duel, I'll draw first." Yuki said, his hand shaking as he drew his sixth card. ' _Okay Yuki, just listen to what Kai said. It's not about winning, it's just about focusing on this duel.'_ "I'll summon Horus Level 4 in attack mode!"

A small metallic looking phoenix appeared in front of Yuki. **Atk-1600 Def-1000.** "Then I'll set a card face down, and call it a turn.

"Alright, well then it's my draw. And I'll start off by summoning this! My Element Valkyrie in attack mode!" A woman with pale skin, red and blue colored armor and a staff that looked as if it was both burning and freezing materialized in front of Fujin. **Atk-1500 Def-1200.** "And that's not all, because thanks to one of her effects, if there's a fire monster on the field like say… your Horus, then my Valkyrie gets an additional 500 attack!"

"Not good." Bastion said from up in the crowd, seated next to Alexis. "Now that Valkyrie has 2000 attack."

"No kidding." Alexis said. "And now Yuki's gonna be unable to capitalize on Horus' effect."

Fujin smirked. "Now go Valkyrie! Destroy Horus!"

The Valkyrie shot a stream of fire at Horus, but when the flames cleared Horus was still standing, which shocked not only Fujin but the rest of the crowd. "What just happened? My Valkyrie has more attack points than your Horus."

"It did." Yuki said, a touch of a nervous edge in his voice. "But then I played this: the quick play card Shrink."

Fujin looked shocked. "B-but that will cut my monster's attack by half…"

Element Valkyrie **Atk-2000-1000**

"Which is means this can happen. Horus, destroy Element Valkyrie!" Yuki ordered his dragon, who blasted the Valkyrie into pieces with a stream of black fire.

 **Fujin-LP 3400**

"And since Horus inflicted battle damage to you, I can special summon a stronger version. Rise, Horus Level 6!" At Yuki's words, a larger version of the metallic phoenix rose where the smaller one had been moments before. **Atk-2600 Def-1600**.

"Not bad, looks like Kai's advice is already taking effect." Fujin said with a smile. "Okay then, I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn." Two other cards appeared face down in front of Fujin as her turn ended.

"Alright, my draw."

"And you triggered my trap! Threatening Roar!" One of Fujin's face down cards was revealed, causing a loud roar to eminate from the card. "And now you're unable to attack me this turn!"

"Smart play." Bastion said, nodding in his approval. "Now she'll have another turn to put something together."

"Alright… So then I'll do this." Yuki revealed a card to Fujin. "By sending this Thunder Dragon I have in my hand, I can get two more Thunder Dragons in my hand. Then, I'll play Pollymariation, and merge the two Thunder Dragons together and fusion summon my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"

A rumble of thunder echoed around the arena, dark cloud formed above Yuki which unleashed a large bolt of lightning. It struck the ground in front of the Slifer student, and when the lightning had vanished, a large orange scaled dragon with identical heads was standing next to Horus. **Atk-2800 Def-2100.**

"And to end my turn, I'll set another card face down."

"Okay then." Fujin said, drawing her next card. "I'll play Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two cards." Fujin drew two more cards from her deck and smirked. "Okay, first I'll play the spell card Nightmare Steel Cage!"

A large domed cage surrounded Yuki and his monsters, causing the Slifer's eyes widen in shock

"Now unfortunately, this means neither of us get to attack until the end of your second turn, but I can still do this. I'll play the spell card Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon twice this turn, so I'll summon Queens Knight, and my Kings Knight!"

Two formidable looking monsters appeared on Fujin's side of the field. A female and a fierce looking male both clad in regal looking armor.

Queens Knight **Atk-1500 Def-1600**

King's Knight **Atk-1500 Def-1400**

"And since my two monsters are on my field, I can summon Jack's Knight!" At Fujin's call a third monster, the youngest of the royal knight trio appeared between the two other warriors. **Atk-1900 Def-1000.** "That'll end my turn."

' _This is weird. I get the feeling she's just toying with me. Like she's setting me up for something really big. I'm gonna have to be really careful about how I do things now. Okay for now, let's just focus on getting Horus Level 8 out on the field.'_ Yuki thought to himself as he drew his next card. "Okay, first I'm gonna set another card face down, and then I'll attack your King's Knight with Horus!"

"Hold on, you can't attack! Nightmare Steel Cage is still up!" Fujin said shocked at Yuki's decision to attack, and the knowing looks on both his and Kai's face.

"Sorry, but thanks to Horus' effect, he's immune to the effects of my opponent's spell cards." Yuki explained. "Now Horus, destroy King's Knight!"

Horus roared, and blasted the monster away with its black fire.

 **Fujin-LP 2300**

"And now, horus becomes stronger! Rise, Horus Level 8!" As Horus Level 6 vanished, its strongest version appeared. It roared, and took flight around the ring to land behind Yuki. **Atk-3000 Def-1800**

"Amazing, he had that card in his deck?" Bastion asked in astonishment.

"Woah, that's a sweet card!" Jaden said, as he and Cyrus had just joined Bastion and Alexis. Having arrived late, since they had fallen asleep almost as soon as Crowler had finished yelling at them for sleeping in his class.

"Yeah, and the best part is that Yuki doesn't look as nervous as he was when this duel started." Alexis said, as she was joined by her two friends Jasmine, who was an Obelisk female with dark hair, and Mindy who was an Obelisk with brown hair.

Jasmine let out an unamused huff. "Well he's gonna be in for it."

"Yeah." Mindy supplied. "Especially if Fu can pull off her one turn kill move."

"Not bad, but unfortunately for you my trap activates." Fujin said, revealing one of her face down cards. "Call Of The Haunted, now my King's Knight comes back to my field, and it's my turn so I draw." Fujin smiled at the card she had just drawn. "You played well Yuki, I'll give you that, but this duel is over. I activate the spell card Ride Of the Valkyries!"

"That's it!" Mindy exclaimed in excitement. "She drew her one turn kill card!"

"Now I'm immune to damage until the start of my next battle phase, and I can attack you with all the Valkyrie cards in my deck!" Fujin smiled, as she inserted the card into her duel disk making all the students present gasp in shock.

"Sorry Fujin, but that's not happening!" Yuki said, which puzzled Fujin.

"What do you mean?" She asked tilting her head.

"Horus' effect allows me to negate and destroy one of your spell cards during either player's turn. So tell Heimdall to hold off on summoning the Bifrost, because your spell card is going straight to Valhalla!"

Horus roared, and destroyed Fujin's card with a burst of it's black fire.

"Hey, that's unfair!" Mindy huffed angrily, which only made Alexis shake her head.

"This guy is good. Way too good to only be a Slifer."

"Okay, well then if I can summon my Valkyries, I'll go to Plan B. I sacrifice all three monsters on my field, and summon Gilford The Lightning!"

"Oh crap…" Yuki groaned, as the three knights dissolved, and a heavily muscled warrior with a large blade took their place. **Atk-2800 Def-1400**

"Oh, and did I mention his special effect?" Fujin asked, though her question was rather rhetorical. "When he's summoned he destroys all monsters my opponent has."

"Oh no…" Both Horus and Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon let out anguished cries as they were destroyed. "Okay… okay, that was a pretty good Plan B, but two can play at this game. I have my own Call Of The Haunted trap card, so my Thunder Dragon is coming right back."

As if on cue, the large orange scaled dragon came back onto Yuki's side of the field. "And until the end of my next turn, your monster can't attack. And with no other cards in your hand, you've really got nothing left. So It's my turn now, and I'll play the Pot Of Greed I just drew."

Yuki smirked, as he saw the cards he had drawn. "Okay, first I'll play my Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your Steel Cage, and I chain that with my next face down card. DNA Surgery! With this, all monsters summoned to the field are now dragon monsters!"

At Yuki's words, Fujin's Nightmare Steel Cage vanished, and her Gilford had taken on a more draconic appearance. "Now I'll activate both cards I drew with Pot Of Greed! First off, is the spell card; Emblem Of A Legendary Warrior! Now I can add a Buster Blader from my deck to my hand. So I bring Buster Blader The Legendary Warrior into my hand since he's treated as Buster Blader. Next I'll play the field spell card Fusion Gate, now there's no need for my Pollymarization spell card. Finally I'll fuse my Buster Blader with my Thunder Dragon, and I'll bring out Buster Blader The Dragon Slayer Swordsman!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped when Yuki summoned his monster. It looked similar to a normal Buster Blader, but with silver colored armor and golden trimmings. **Atk-2800 Def-2500.**

"And there's more." Yuki explained. "While my monster can't attack you directly, he does gain an additional 1000 attack points for each dragon monster you control."

Fujin gasped in shock. "And with your DNA Surgery on the field…"

Buster Blader **Atk-3800** "Also Fujin, my monster also forces yours to enter into defense mode. And unfortunately for you, you will take damage due to Buster Blader's piercing effect."

Kai couldn't help the smile that was forming on his face. Even though he had told Yuki he didn't have to win, he was proud that he was about to. "Do it Yuki."

"Buster Blader, attack Gilford!" Yuki ordered his monster, who cleaved the now draconic warrior in half with its blade, with the attack following through and hitting Fujin.

 **Fujin-LP 0000**

The crowd gathered, exploded into cheers and applause as the holograms faded. And Yuki felt Kai's arm wrap around his shoulders. "See? What did I tell you, just focus on the duel and the crowd is no problem!"

"Y-yeah…" Yuki chuckled nervously, especially when Kai discretely slipped a card into his hand, which was undoubtedly The Blue-Eyes he had promised Yuki.

"Not bad Yuki." Fujin said, applauding the Slifer along with everyone else in the arena as she approached both him and Kai. "Looks like Kai was right, about you being an incredibly strong duelist."

"Told you." Kai laughed, ruffling Yuki's hair.

Up in one of the open entrances to the arena, Dr. Crowler stood slightly out of sight, having been watching since the start of the duel. ' _Yes, I see why Kai lost yesterday even if he was just using a newly constructed deck. Under normal circumstances, Yuki should be recommended for a promotion, however I know he'll refuse. At least until his sister arrives. I expect great things from you Mr. Hyoudou.'_

"Great duel Yuki!" Jaden high-fived his friend, as he had rushed the stage along with Cyrus and Chumley. Alexis, and Bastion however were taking a far calmer approach.

"Good show indeed." Bastion said, shaking Yuki's hand in congratulations when he'd reached him.

"There is one thing I want to know though." Alexis mused. "You don't duel like someone who should be placed in Slifer Red. So why are you in that dorm?"

* * *

"Now it all makes sense." Bastion said. The large group was just outside the main building of the academy, having listened to Yuki explain exactly why he was in Slifer.

"Yeah… it does…" Yuki wheezed due to the rib cracking hug Fujin had him in. "Someone help… lungs… collapsing."

"Fu, let him go." Kai said trying not to laugh.

Yuki let out a grateful gasp of air when Fujin finally released him from her iron grip. "Doctors say she'll be safe to travel by the end of this week, so she'll be here either on one of our days off, or by the end of the school day on Monday."

"Well." Kai began. "If she duels like you, the competition is gonna be intense this year.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been almost a full week since the start of the new year at Duel Academy, and thanks to Kai's tutoring Yuki had been racking up the wins. However there was a certain trio of Obelisks that were not happy about this. Chazz Princeton was skulking around the empty hallways of the main building of the academy, flanked as always by his two goons. Raizou who was larger than the two, though looked to be all muscle walked along Chazz on the right. Torimaki who was the same height as Chazz wore rounded glasses and had dark blue hair, that had an elongated bang on the right, that he had curled slightly.

"Who does that slacker think he is?" Chazz growled. "Thinking he's a big shot just because he's won a couple of duels. People say he's gonna be the next King of Games!? That's my destiny!"

"But Chazz." Torimaki said. "He's being coached by Kai Murrasame."

"Yeah." Raizou supplied. "And Kai's got the highest marks out of all the second year students."

Chazz let out an exasperated growl. "You two aren't helping! If he keeps winning, then he'll get promoted, and there's only room at the top for one person, and that's me!"

"So what do you want us to do about it Chazz?" Torimaki asked in an attempt to sound helpful, making Chazz stop in his tracks, and look to the blue haired boy at his side. An evil grin slowly spread across the spiky haired Obelisk's face.

"What I want you to do Torimaki, is show that Slifer Slacker what a real dragon duelist is capable of." Chazz said, his evil grin growing.

* * *

Yumei smiled brightly as she exited the man building of the academy. She may have had to start in Slifer Red after missing the practical and a full week of classes, but thanks to her parents and her elder brother pulling some strings, Yumei had been allowed to take Duel Academy's written exam. Her score had been so high that Chancellor Sheppard allowed her admittance to the school once the doctors had permitted her to travel.

She slipped the red blazer over her dark under shirt, before frowning and shaking her head. She rolled the jacket's sleeves up so the sleeve stopped just below her elbows. "That's better, now let's see if I can go surprise Yu."

However Yumei never made it past the first step when a rather angry voice caught her attention. "Hey Slifer!"

Yumei turned around with a scowl on her face to see three Obelisks headed her way, and from the looks on their faces, they clearly meant business. "And just what do you three whant?"

"Oh very cute." Chazz growled coming to a stop a few feet away from Yumei. "You think you're a big shot now? Just because you've won every duel you've been in this week, doesn't mean you'll ever get to talk down to an Obelisk!"

' _Okay Yu, just what have you been doing?'_ Yumei thought to herself, but decided to play it off. "Well then, why not put your money where your mouth is hm?"

"While I'd love to be the one that destroys you." Chazz began, a scowl on his face after Yumei's remark about putting up. "Torimaki here has the honor of taking you down."

Torimaki stepped up closer to Chazz, an off-putting smile on his face. "Time to show you how what a real dragon deck can do Slifer Slime."

"Alright, but just so you know, I won't be using my dragon deck today." Yumei replied, hoping her bluff would work. "I just constructed a new deck, and you have the honor of being the first person I take down with it."

Torimaki snarled as he put his duel disk on. "Just shut up and duel."

"Gladly." Yume said with a confident smile.

"Duel!"

 **Yumei-LP 4000**

 **Torimaki-LP 4000**

"Ladies first." Yumei said, drawing her sixth card. "Alright, I'll play the spell card Double Summon. Now I'm able to normal summon two monsters this turn, and I chose Silent Swordsman, and Valkyrian Knight!"

Two monsters appeared on Yumei's field, one a noble looking female, and the second a small and comical looking warrior.

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-1900 Def-1600**

Silent Swordsman **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

"Nex, I'll place a card face down, and that will end my turn." A card appeared face down at Yumei's feet behind her two monsters. ' _Alright, so far so good. These stooges haven't realized I'm not Yu. Maybe once I beat this guy, I'll let them know.'_

"Alright, now it's my draw." Torimaki drew, but Yumei cut him off.

"And my trap activates! Threatening roar, now you can't attack me this turn!" Yumei's trap flipped face up, and a loud roar eminated from the revealed card.

Torimaki growled. "Fine, I'll activate Cost Down, lowering my monsters level at the cost of one card." The Obelisk selected one card, and placed it into his graveyard. "Now I'll summon Luster Dragon Number Two!"

A large dragon with silver colored scales emerged in front of Torimaki **Atk-2400 Def-1200**. "See the difference between us yet Slifer? I can pull out strong monsters in one turn, where it takes you three to get your strongest on the field."

' _Obviously talking about Horus … or he could be mentioning my Silent Swordsman, but that doesn't matter.'_ Yumei shook her head as she drew her next card. "One good move on your first turn doesn't mean there's a gap in skill."

Torimaki scowled yet again. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll show you." Yumei replied, revealing a card from her hand. "I'll play Pot of Greed, now I can draw two more cards. Then I'll tribute my Silent Swordsman Level Three, and special Summon my Silent Swordsman."

The small cartoonish looking warrior vanished, to be replaced with a far more serious looking version of the monster Yumei had just tributed. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**. "Then I'll summon my second Valkyrian Knight, and end my turn."

Torimaki scoffed. "Nothing in your back row? No wonder you're in Slifer. Now watch this, I'll discard the Thunder Dragon I have in my hand, to get two more. Then I'll use Pollymarization and fuse them together. So come on out Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!"

A large orange scaled dragon with two heads appeared on Torimaki's field. **Atk-2800 Def-2100**. "Now, Thunder Dragon attack!"

"Not happening." Yumei said while shaking her head. "You see with my Valkyrian Knight on the field, you can't attack any monster on my field but her. And I have two of them, so that means you can't attack!"

"Lucky move." Torimaki frowned. "Fine, I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

"Complain all you want, bring out all the strong monsters you want, unless you get rid of my knights, you can't attack me!" Yumei drew her next card, and her Silent Swordsman's attack increased.

Silent Swordsman **Atk-1500**

"Even better, now I'll attack you with my Silent Swordsman!" Yumei declared which shocked the three Obelisks. "Destroy Thunder Dragon!"

"You're crazy, if you want to lose life points and your monster, then be my guest." Torimaki said shrugging.

"Crazy, hardly. Because I have the quick play spell Silent Sword Slash!" Yumei inserted the spell card into her duel disk. "Now my monster's attack increases by 1500!"

Silent Swordsman **Atk-3000**

Torimaki's eyes widened. "That's not happening, because I have a trap waiting. Sakuretsu Armor!"

Yumei only smirked as her monster destroyed Thunder dragon, making the Obelisk's points drop.

 **Torimaki-LP 3800**

"What the hell!? Your attacking monster should have been destroyed by my trap! What did you do!?" Torimaki demanded.

"It's the effect of my spell card." Yumei explained. "See my Swordsman isn't affected by my opponent's card effects the turn I activate Silent Sword Slash, so looks like you just wasted your trap. And it looks like it's my turn, and my monster's attack grows."

Silent Swordsman **Atk-2000**

"And next, I'll give him the equip card Lightning Blade, boosting my monster's attack by 800!" As Yumei placed the card into her duel disk, a longsword crackling with electricity appeared in front of her Silent Swordsman, which was taken by the warrior.

Silent Swordsman **Atk-2800**

"Now Silent Swordsman attack Luster Dragon!' Yumei ordered, for her monster to behead Torimaki's dragon, which caused it to explode in a cloud of Pixels.

 **Torimaki-LP 3400**

"Now my Valkyrian Knights are ending this, attack!" Both of Yumei's monsters charged forward, slashing Torimaki in such a way that their blades created an X-shaped pattern.

 **Torimaki-LP 0000**

"And that's game over." Yumei said, as her duel disk deactivated. "Real dragon duelist huh? I didn't see much."

"You think this is over Slifer?" Torimaki growled, as he got back to his feet.

"Yeah it is." Yumei said, as she descended the academy steps. "Especially I'm not the person you were looking for." Yumei laughed as she walked away, headin for the Slifer dorms. "Jeez what a bunch of idiots."

* * *

Close to the Slifer dorms, another duel was taking place. This one between Yuki and a Ra, specifically Bastion Misawa. Bastion had challenged Yuki, as the Slifer had mentioned a second deck he hadn't used in years. On Bastion's field were two brown colored dinosaur looking monsters called Hydrogedon. Yuki's side of the field consisted of three spellcaster monsters: Maha Vailo, Neo the Magic Swordsman, and Black Magician Girl.

"My draw." Bastion said drawing his next card. "And I summon Oxygedon in attack mode!"

"Not so fast Bastion, I have a trap!" Yuki said, revealing his face down card. "Dark Renewal!"

Bastion's eyes widened in shock. "You had that card in your deck?"

"Yeah, and now since you normal summoned a monster, I can activate it." Yuki explained. "By sacrificing Maha Vailo, and your Oxygedon, I can bring my Black Magician back from the graveyard!

Both Bastion's and Yuki's monsters vanished into a black coffin that had materialized from Yuki's trap card, and from that same coffin emerged Yuki's Black Magician. The artwork on the card was almost transparent, and the monster itself had faded teal armor, white hair, and pale skin.

"And because Maha Vailo had Black Pendant equipped to it, you lose 500 points Bastion." Yuki discarded the equip card into the graveyard.

 **Bastion-LP 2000**

Bastion smiled. "Well played indeed Yuki, now I believe it's your move."

"Right then, I draw, and I'll play Black Burning Attack!" Yuki revealed the spell card to Bastion.

"But that…" Bastion said shocked that Yuki had drawn not only that card, but the card he needed to win.

"Destroys all monsters on my opponent's field, provided I have a Black Magician Girl!" Yuki's Black Magician Girl pointed her staff at both Hydrogedon's and blasted them off the field with two orbs of black energy.

"Now go Black Magician! Black Magic Attack!" Yuki ordered his monster. Black Magician raised his staff, and shot a stream of black energy at Bastion, which struck him in the stomach.

 **Bastion-LP 0000**

"Well done." Bastion smiled, getting back to his feet. Black Magician's attack had knocked him down to one knee. "For not dueling with that deck in years, you didn't seem to have lost your edge with it."

' _He's right partner.'_ Neo's spirit said to Yuki. ' _You should use us more often, now that you remember how that deck of yours works.'_

"Thanks Bastion. It felt good to duel with my spellcasters again. Especially after dueling five days in a row with my dragons." Yuki shook the Ra's hand, as Jaden and Cyrus approached the two.

"Sweet duel Yuki. I didn't know you used spellcasters." Jaden said, his perpetual smile on his face.

"But what was up with that Black Magician?" Cyrus asked curiously. "It looked different than Yugi Muoto's."

"Take a look for yourself." Yuki said, showing the three the ghost rare artwork of his Black Magician card. Jaden, Cyrus, and Bastion looked from the heavily rare card, to Yuki, and back again. "I take it you want an explenation? There's really nothing to explain, I was just constructing my deck for Battle City, and I pulled this Black Magician card out of one of the packs."

"If you made this deck for Battle City." Bastion mused. "How is it you never made it to the finals?"

Yuki felt a jolt of anger shoot through his stomach. "Because my locator card was stolen from me by that cheating insect duelist, Weevil Underwood. And he didn't even duel me for it."

"That's just wrong." Jaden frowned.

"Yeah." Cyrus chimed in. "People like that give all duelists a bad name."

"Tell me about it." Yuki said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "So instead I gave my deck to my older brother Yuri."

"Woah, hold on!" Jaden looked shocked at this new piece of information. "Your older brother is Yuri Hyoudou?"

"Yeah. How did you not make that connection?" Yuki laughed, as Bastion cleared his throat. "With the exception of Bastion, how did you not make that connection?"

"I guess I never put it together." Jade laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well Yu isn't the only one related to Yuri." Yumei said from behind her twin, makin his eyes go wide. Yuki whirled around, coming face to face with his sister.

"Yumei?" He asked, as Jaden and Cyrus peeked around their classmate. "When…? How…?"

Yumei laughed at how shocked her twin was. "To answer both questions: I got here … about an hour ago."

Yumei proceeded to explain her first hour on the island, including every detail of her duel with Torimaki, in that he along with Raizou and Chazz had confused Yumei for her twin. And how she had defeated Torimaki in three turns.

"Very impressive." Bastion said, nodding in approval. "Oh, I am sorry. Where are my manners? Bastion Misawa."

"Yumei Hyoudou." She smiled and shook Bastion's hand. "And you two are?"

"Oh right." Yuki said, lightly nudging Jaden and Cyrus forward. "Yumei, this is Jaden Yuki and Cyrus Trusedale."

"Nice to meet the both of you." Yumei, said shaking their hands. "And Trusedale? Any relation to Zane Trusedale?"

"Y-yeah…" Cyrus said looking at his shoes, making everyone give the small boy some confused looks. But they had no time to ask what was bothering Cyrus, when someone called out Yuki's name.

"Hey, Yuki!" Everyone looked up to see Kai and Dr. Crowler approaching the group.

"Hey Kai, a-and what brings you here Dr. Crowler?" Yuki asked, feeling confused as it was no secret that the headmaster of Obelisk had no love for the Slifer students, despite whatever respect he seemed to have for Yuki.

"I wanted to tell you the good news in person." Dr. Crowler said smiling. "Now, I just saw who I believed, and I may add correctly believed to be your sister dueling one of my Obelisks, and soundly defeating him."

"Oh umm thank you…" Yumei looked to Yuki for some help.

"Dr. Crowler." Yuki supplied.

"Dr. Crowler." Yumei parroted. "But in reality he was looking for Yuki."

"Yes, he said as much." Crowler replied. "Now onto what I came here to say: You said you wouldn't accept being placed into a higher dorm until after your sister arrived. Since she's here now, you don't have any excuse. On monday, you will have a promotion duel, and should you win, you will be immediately promoted to the Ra dorms."


	5. Chapter 5

"Sweet Yuki." Jaden smiled, shaking his shoulder lightly by means of congratulations after Crowler had left in a rather hurried fashion. "You're getting a chance to head to Ra."

"Yu?" Yumei asked, waving a hand in front of her twin who suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Y-yeah!" Yuki shook his head a few times. "Sorry, that just… it's kinda sudden you know? I thought it would take longer for me, or anyone to get a promotion match and-"

"The shock of it hit you all at once." Both Kai and Yumei finished, before giving one another curious looks.

"Exactly." Yuki said, before realizing something. "Oh right. Um, Kai this is my twin sister Yumei. Yumei, this is the guy I told you about; this is Kai."

"Oh, you're the one who's been helping Yu with his problem with crowds." Yumei shook Kai's hand as they spoke.

"That's me." Kai smiled. "So Yumei, what kind of deck do you run?"

"Warriors, but we can duel later." Yumei turned her attention back to her twin. "Right now, I have to help Yu prepare for his promotion match."

"I was just going to offer to help as well." Kai said with a small laugh. "We need to upgrade your deck since everyone at the academy pretty much knows what monsters you play now. And they'll have come up with ways to prevent you getting out your stronger monsters."

"In just a week?" Yumei asked, sounding rather impressed.

"You'd be surprised." Yuki said, before motioning to Bastion. "I'm pretty sure Bastion here had come up with around ten ways to beat my deck after my practical exam."

"Twelve actually." Bastion chimed in, smiling in a rather satisfied way.

"And I'm suddenly very glad Kai had me duel other Obelisks." Yuki's comment made everyone laugh. "But Kai is right, I need to upgrade my deck."

"Okay, then the card shop it is!" Jaden smiled, wrapping an arm around Yuki's shoulders.

* * *

Yuki's jaw went slack as he looked at the card he had pulled. It was a powerful spellcaster monster, that was related to his Black Magician cards, and one that he had never expected to even see, let alone pull out of a pack.

"Woah…" Yumei was just as surprised as her twin with the monster he had pulled. "Not even Yuri has that card in his deck, and he-"

"Yumei." Yuki cut his twin off, shaking his head which made Kai and Jaden look at the twin with intense curiosity.

"Is there something we should know?" Kai asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story." Yumei began.

"Which we'll tell." Yuki finished. "But after the duel okay?"

"Alright, but we'll hold you to that." Jaden replied, that perpetual smile of his back on his face.

* * *

The rumor of Yuki's promotion match spread through the academy like wildfire, so by the end of Saturday, everyone on the island knew about it.

"Did you hear Kai's little protege is up for a promotion match?" Alexis' friend Mindy asked Fujin that evening, while the second year Obelisk was making modifications to her deck.

Fujin smiled. "Good. If anyone in Slifer deserves to move up in rank, its Yu."

Mindy raise an eyebrow. "Yu?"

Fujin's eyes widened slightly, and her face tinted with color when she realized her mistake.

* * *

The Hyoudou twins, Jaden, and Kai had gone over strategies, constructed and reconstructed both of Yuki's decks so that there was virtually no way Yuki could lose his promotion match on Monday.

"Okay, I still say you should use them Yu." Yumei said pushing three cards towards her brother. Yumei had taken residence in Yuki's dorm room, as there was nobody else in his dorm but him. "Come on, you pulled them years ago, if there was any time to use any of them, now's the time."

"I still can't believe you drew these cards." Kai said, a tone of jealousy in his voice. He was sitting on Yuki's bunk while Yuki and Yumei sat on the floor, and Jaden was sitting on one of the wheeled chairs in the dorm. "I never even found one, how did you pull all three from one pack."

Yuki let out a huff of laughter. "Apparently, I'm naturally lucky. And in the way I write my name." Jaden handed Yuki a pen and a piece of paper, before Yuki began writing. "The character for luck is in it. See?"

"Huh… would you look at that." Kai mused, while a soft smile formed on his face as he examined the piece of paper Yuki handed him. "But your sister's right, you should add at least one of those cards into either of your decks."

"Alright, you two win." Yuki said conceding to his friend and sister.

* * *

Monday afternoon came a little too quick for Yuki. Before the Slifer had noticed, classes for the day had ended, and everyone was rushing towards the main dueling arena like people would run to a card shop when a new set of rare cards was released.

"You ready for this Yu?" Yumei asked, placing a hand on her twin's shoulder in a comforting manner. Yuki's foot was rapidly tapping the floor. A small tick Yuki seemed to have whenever he was nervous. The two were the only ones left in the classroom, aside from Jaden who was asleep yet again.

"Yeah." Yuki inhaled deeply, before getting to his feet. "I'm ready."

Yumei smiled before remembering something. "Oh, I forgot. Yuri sent me this. He wanted me to give this to you, since the mailing system here is apparently really flimsy."

Yumei reached into her bag, before handing Yuki a dark blue shirt. Yuki smiled, as he had a look of the custom shirt his elder brother had made for him. Instead of the signature SR on the front of the shirt, it had been replaced by a YH, with the words ' _Burn It Down'_ surrounding the initials.

"Feel better now?" Yumei asked, as Yuki changed into the shirt, before pulling his Slifer Red jacket over it. Though he left the jacket open to show the logo on the shirt his elder brother had sent him.

"Much better." Yuki said, waking Jaden up. "Hey buddy, wake up. Time for the duel."

"Nice shirt." Jaden yawned, smiling at Yuki.

"Gift from my older brother." Yuki replied, as the three walked out of the classroom, where both Kai and Fujin were waiting.

"Nice shirt." Fujin winked at Yuki, making his cheeks flush slightly.

"You ready?" Kai asked, Yuki nodding a second later. The five of them walked together towards the arena, Kai's arm wrapped over Yuki's shoulder. "Just remember what I told you; just focus on your opponent not the duel."

"You can do this Yuki." Fujin said, giving his shoulder an encouraging squeeze, as Jaden ran to find a seat.

* * *

In the center of Duel Academy's main arena, a large man with a bald head and a goatee stood next to Crowler and Torimaki. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a promotion duel for first year Slifer Red student Yuki Hyoudou. Should he win today, Yuki will move up from Slifer to Ra Yellow. Allow me to introduce to you his opponent: first year Obelisk Blue Taiyou Torimaki!"

It seemed everyone in Duel Academy was in attendance for this match. News of just how good a duelist Yuki was had quickly made its way around the academy, there was a lot of hype for this duel, even with two days notice. There was a smattering of applause for Torimaki, before Chancellor Sheppard spoke yet again. "Now please put your hands together for Yuki Hyoudou!"

Yumei smiled as the crowd cheered at the mention of her twin's name. She had one more surprise in store for her twin. Something she talked with Chancellor Sheppard about. Seconds after the headmaster of the school announced Yuki's name, came Yumei's surprise.

' _ **BURN IT DOWN!'**_

Yuki's eyes widened, looking to his sister who only winked as the music started. Yuki smiled after a moment, deciding to take his twins surprise in stride. The Slifer walked into the arena alongside Yumie, to both the music and tremendous applause. The two were flanked on either side by Kai and Fujin.

The cheering of the crowd intensified as Yuki reached the center platform in the middle of the arena. He shook hands with Chancellor Sheppard, as Crowler scowled. He may have been impressed with Yuki's dueling skills, but he did not think that anyone in this academy should enter a duel like this to music. Especially a Slifer.

"Shake hands you two." Sheppard said, after the music had died down. Yumei, Kai, and Fujin had gone to find seats at this point. Yuki and Torimki grasped one another's hands.

"Heard you dueled my sister a few days ago." Yuki said, causing Torimaki to frown. "I guess you asked to be my opponent, because you wanted a shot at my dragons right?"

"Damn right." Torimaki replied with a determined look in his eyes. "I'm gonna show you what a real dragon deck is like."

"Well, you got the right win this time." Yuki said with a small huff of laughter. "But you got into Obelisk with your dragons right? You must be good."

Torimaki blinked in surprise, before giving Yuki an almost unseen nod of approval. "I still have a score to settle with your sister."

"Settle it after this duel." Yuki said, activating his duel disk. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Torimaki-LP 4000**

"Since it's my promotion match, I'll draw first." Yuki drew. ' _Okay Yuki, just remember what Kai told you: Focus on your opponent.'_ "Alright, first I'll summon Ruby Dragon in attack mode." A dragon that looked like a red scaled version of Luster Dragon appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-1900 Def-1600**. "Next, I play two cards face down, and play the spell Swords of Revealing Light. Now neither of us can attack for 3 turns."

"A good opening move." Bastion said, finding a seat next to Yumei. "I haven't seen Yuki play that monster before."

"It's never been in his deck before." Yumei explained. "We worked on both decks all weekend for this duel."

"Not bad." Torimaki admitted, drawing his sixth card. "But let's see how you handle this. I'll summon Spear Dragon in attack mode." A wyvern-like monster with blue scales, and an elongated beak appeared on Torimaki's field. **Atk-1900 Def-0** "Then I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

"That card is probably Sakuretsu Armor." Yumei mused, as she remembered her duel with Torimaki. "Yu is gonna need to watch out for that."

"Yuki'll be fine." Jaden said from the seat above. "There's no way he's gonna lose this. Not with all the work we did."

On the opposite side of the arena, Chazz who was seated next to Raizou was scowling at Yuki. "Crush this Slifer Slacker Torimaki."

"Okay, guess it's my move." Yuki drew, and smiled. "I'll play Pot of Greed, now I get to add another 2 cards to my hand. Then I'll summon the Red Eyes Black Chick in defense mode." A small version of the Red Eyes Black Dragon still inside its egg appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-800 Def-500**. "And that's it for my turn."

' _What is he thinking. Playing weak monsters like Ruby Dragon and Red Eyes Chick?'_ Torimaki thought, as he drew his next card. "Alright, let's see you deal with this! I'll discard Thunder Dragon and add two more to my hand. Then I'll fuse them with Pollymarization, and summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" The large two headed orange scaled dragon appeared on Torimaki's field, after a large bolt of lightning struck the platform the two were dueling on. **Atk-2800 Def-2100**.

' _Okay, well if what Yumei told me was correct, Torimaki's face down card is Sakuretsu Armor. I'm gonna need to knock that out soon.'_ Yuki thought as he drew his next card, and smirked at what he drew. "Okay, I'll set one card face down, and tribute my Red Eyes Chick, to special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

The crowd gasped in shock, as Yuki had never played that card before. And the fact that he had yet another rare and powerful monster like that in his deck, was a real shocker. The pitch black dragon roared at Torimaki, as it materialized on the field. **Atk-2400 Def-2000**.

"Oh this is heating up." Alexis said, leaning forward slightly in her seat. "Only one more turn until the swords vanish."

Both Jasmine and Mindy blinked in surprise. "What's with you Lex?"

"Yeah." Mindy piped up. "You've never been this interested in a duel before."

"Okay, my draw." Torimaki smirked evilly as he drew his next card. "And I'll play the spell Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your swords."

"Uh-oh…" Yuki winced as his swords were blown away.

"Now my Thunder Dragon attacks your Ruby Dragon!" Torimaki ordered, and his monster reared its duel heads back.

"Not so fast Torimaki, I have a trap! Negate attack, which ends your battle phase!"

Kai nodded, unable to help the smile on his face. "Good move Yuki."

"Good move." Torimaki conceded. "Your turn now."

"Okay then, draw!" Yuki smiled yet again. "Right then, first I'll play my face down card Dust Tornado! And I'll destroy your face down card."

Torimaki winced, as his face down Sakuretsu Armor was destroyed. "Good move."

Chazz scowled. "What's going on? Why is Torimaki complementing that Slifer Slacker?"

"But it was a good move Chazz." Raiou said, which only caused Chazz to scowl all the more.

"Then I'll activate Emblem of a Legendary Warrior, allowing me to add Buster Blader to my hand. Finally I'll activate my own Pollymarization, and fuse my Buster Blader with my Ruby Dragon! Now Rise: Buster Blader the Dragonslayer Swordsman!" The familiar monster rose in place where Ruby Dragon had been. **Atk-2800 Def-2500**.

"But I'm not done there, as I'm sure you know my monster forces all my opponent's dragons into defense mode, and has piercing damage." Yuki said, as both of Torimaki's dragons folded their wings. "And he gets stronger for every dragon monster my opponent has on his field."

Buster Blader **Atk-4800**

"This is good." Fujin said, leaning forward in her seat. "With the right card, Yuki can win right now."

"And finally I'll activate the last card in my hand. The Claw of Hermos!"

Everyone in the arena was shocked, including Chancellor Sheppard and Dr. Crowler.

"What?"

"No way!"

"He has that card!?"

Yuki smirked, as he slid the card into his duel disk. "Now I'll fuse Hermos with my Red Eyes, and create my Red Eyes Black Dragon Sword!" A long black sword that had the outline of Yuki's Red Eyes appeared on the field. **Atk-2400 Def-2000**. "And it gets better, because this monster becomes an equip spell, and I know the perfect monster to give it to. My Buster Blader!"

The warrior monster took the blade, as its attack and defense boosted. **Atk-7200 Def 4500**.

"Now go Buster Blader, destroy Spear Dragon! Infernal Fire Slash!" Yuki cried, as Buster Blader swung the Red Eyes Sword at the wyvern, and slashed it down the middle. The dragon exploded into a cloud of pixels, but Buster Blader wasn't done there. It swung the blade yet again, this time an arc of fiery energy shot from the blade, and hit Torimaki in the center of the chest.

 **Torimaki-LP 0000**

The crowd exploded into cheers, as ' _Burn It Down'_ played over the speakers. Yuki shook Torimaki's hand yet again, before his sister, Kai, and Fujin approached him. "You're good, come by … well come by the Ra dorm sometime. I'd be happy to take a look at your deck, and help you out if you'd like."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that … after I settle that score with your sister." Torimaki said, walking off.

"What did I tell you huh?" Kai laughed, being the first one to reach the platform. He wrapped an arm about Yuki's shoulders, ruffling his hair. "I'm so proud of you!"

"You did great out there!" Fujin smiled, wrapping Yuki up in one of her rib cracking hugs.

"Oh god… someone help…" Yuki wheezed.

* * *

"So about this story you promised." Kai said nudging Yuki's side. He along with Fujin, Yumei, Jaden, Cyrus, Chumley, and Alexis who was being accompanied by Jasmine and Mindy were all hanging out in Yuki's new dorm room. Even Torimaki had decided to join, though more to take Yuki up on his offer.

"Right." Yuki said, pulling out the monster card he had pulled out of the pack a few days ago: Palladium Oracle Mahad. Then taking out his ghost rare Black Magician. "These two cards are tied together, and tied to our family."

Yuki took a deep breath before explaining. "Remember when Professor Banner explained about how the game of Duel Monsters originated in Egypt? Well the Black Magician used to be this card." He pointed to Mahad. "He was one of Pharoah Atem's priests, and the original holder of the Millenium Ring. You see Mahad gave up his life to become the Black Magician, so he could always be by Atem's side."

"Just like this monster's effect." Yumei interjected. "When Mahad is destroyed, you're allowed to summon a Black Magician from your hand, deck, or graveyard."

"So how does this all tie into your family?" Fujin asked, though she was leaning in like everone else in Yuki's dorm.

"Our older brother Yuri." Yuki explained. "See when Mahad died, he placed a part of his spirit inside the Millenium Ring, so that should whoever found it would be able to aid the Pharoah's spirit find peace. The person who had possession of the Ring until all the Millenium Items were lost, was our older brother Yuri. Who was Mahad reincarnated.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days after Yuki's promotion match, Dr. Crowler could be found in his office after his final class had concluded. "How dare that Slifer Slacker make a mockery of me in front of my own class. It'll be the last mistake he makes at this academy. Tucking away the letter he had written in an envelope, Crowler picked up a hand mirror before applying red lipstick and kissing the envelope.

"Ah, the big kiss-off!" He said, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

* * *

Yuki having just gotten out of gym class with the rest of the Ra's when he saw Jaden running down the hallway. He waved to get Yuki's attention, and looked completely lost. "Must be running late to class again."

"Hey Yuki, where are the locker rooms?" Jaden asked, jogging in place.

' _Yup, he's definately running late again.'_ Yuki chuckled, pointing down the hall. "Down the hall, it's the first door to the left."

"Thanks Yuki, I'll catch you later!" Jaden ran off, not realizing that he had dropped his pda.

"Hey, Jaden hold up-aaaaaaaaand he's gone." Yuki sighed, and shrugged picking up Jaden's pda. "Well I guess I'll give it back to him tomorrow."

As the Slifers started class with Fonda Fontaine, who was not only the academy's gym teacher, but also the head of the girls dorms, Crowler snuck into the locker room with the letter he had written. He placed the envelope on a pair of shoes he believed to be Jaden's before sneaking out.

As class started for the Slifers, they were currently one short seeing as Cyrus was running late. "Lousy girls gym. Why did they have to make the signs so small?"

Panting slightly, Cyrus reached his locker. "Oh, guess Jaden's still using my locker… huh? What's this?"

Cyrus picked up the letter, and his eyes went wide when he saw the SWAK mark. "This isn't Jaden's … Someone's written me a love letter!"

"From the first moment I set eyes on you, I've been in love with you. Meet me at the girls dorm tonight so I can give you a big kiss. Endearingly, Alexis Rhodes!?" Cyrus' eyes went wide as he read the name on the false love letter.

* * *

That same night found Cyrus in a small rowboat, heading across a large lake with his destination being the girls dorm. "Here I come Alexis."

At that same time, Crowler who was wearing a black outfit as camouflage had broken the lock on the front gate of the girls dorm with a pair of bolt cutters. He was almost giddy with anticipation. "Perfect, thanks to that fake love letter Jaden will show up here looking for Alexis, but all he'll find is trouble. Once he arrives, I'll snap a picture of him breaking one of the biggest school rules, and with the proof I'll need, he'll be expelled."

While all this was going on, Fujin and Alexis were enjoying the large hot spring that was available to them, having been joined a short while ago by Jasmine and Mindy.

"With the rate he's going, Yuki will be an Obelisk soon." Alexis said while sinking ever deeper into the hot water.

Fujin smiled at hearing that. "I said it before his promotion match. If there's anyone who deserves to rank up, it's him."

"Oh, not calling him 'Yu' this time?" Mindy asked teasingly, lightly nudging Fujin's arm which caused Fujin's cheeks to flush pink.

Outside, Crowler was waiting for Jaden when he heard footsteps approaching. "That's it Jaden, walk right into my trap like the Slifer Sap you are." However Crowler's plans were dashed when he saw just was approaching.

"Alexis?" Cyrus called out.

"That's not Jaden, that's that field spell nitwit!" Crowler growled, unfortunately drawing attention to him.

"What's a boy doing here?" Another girl called out. Which alerted the others in the spring.

"I'm not a boy, I'm a man- I mean, forget it!" Crowler made to run for it, but lost his footing and fell into the water. Fortunately for Crowler, the outcry hadn't exposed him, but Cyrus who had no time to act as he had been quickly surrounded.

"A love letter from Alexis?" Mindy asked, her arms crossed.

"Y-yeah, it's true, just ask her." Cyrus replied.

"Uh hello? Alexis is really tall, and you're really short." Jasmine said, not believing Cyrus' explaination one bit.

"Lex is also an incredible duelist." Fujin said, giving Jasmine an irritated look due to her remark. "And unfortunately Cyrus, you don't fit that bill."

"But it is true." Cyrus explained, producing the fake love letter. "Here, read it."

Alexis frowned, taking the letter before letting out a sigh that was a mix between amusement and irritation. "Cyrus, my name isn't even spelled right."

"Woah, hang on." Jasmine said, reading the letter. "This letter is addressed to Jaden Yuki."

Cyrus hung his head in defeat. "So I can't even get a fake love letter…"

"Now I feel kinda bad." Fujin said.

"Sorry Cyrus." Alexis folded the letter.

"I don't buy this…" Mindy frowned. "He could have written this as an excuse to come here."

"So what should we do with him?" Jasmine asked.

"Girls, just what's going on down there?" Everyone looked up to see Ms. Fontaine looking over the balcony. Thinking quickly, the four girls stuffed Cyrus out of sight. "Alright, what's going on?"

"We're sorry Ms. Fontaine." Alexis apologised. "We'll try to put a lid on things."

"I should hope so. It's after midnight, and I have pilates in the morning." Ms. Fontaine said before heading back to her room.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Jasmine asked, looking back to where they had hidden Cyrus.

"I'll tell you what we do, we'll use Cyrus here as bait to see if Jaden is as good as we think he is." Alexis said with a smirk on her face.

* * *

Yuki had just finished up an assignment for Professor Satyr who was head of the Ra dorm, when he heard ringing. Believing it to be his own pda, Yuki was surprised to find it was Jaden's that was ringing. Yuki shrugged, thinking he could tell whoever it was that Jaden had dropped his pda, but all Yuki found was a recorded message.

" _We have your dorm mate Cyrus. If you want him back, come to the girls dorm now. Alone."_ Whoever had recorded it, had heavily distorted their voice.

"Cy? Okay, hang on little buddy, I'm on my way." Yuki said, grabbing his deck and duel disk.

* * *

Crowler surfaced for air, having somehow gotten out of the girls dorm, and dove into the lake for added cover for some reason. "Well this is perfect. You try to expel one student, and the whole world turns against you…" Crowler growled, before he saw someone rowing a boat across the lake, but it wasn't Jaden. "What the…? Why is Yuki here?"

Yuki stepped out of his boat when he reached the opposite shore to find Alexis, Fujin, Jasmine, and Mindy had Cyrus tied up.

"Yuki? What are you doing here?" Cyrus asked. "Where's Jaden?"

"Jaden was running late to class, he bumped into me wondering where the locker rooms were and ended up dropping his pda when he ran off." Yuki explained. "So I ended up getting the message instead of Jaden. So… what's all this about?"

"Well long story short, I'm basically a big loser…" Cyrus hung his head.

"Your friend was trespassing on the girls dorm." Jasmine explained.

"And let me guess, it's off limits to the male students?" Yuki asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, and now that you're here Yuki. So are you." Mindy said.

"Mindy's right, so if you and Cyrus want your freedom, you'll have to beat me in a duel." Alexis said.

* * *

' _Well well, an Obelisk versus a Ra. This should be interesting.'_ Crowler thought to himself. As Yuki and Alexis rowed out to the middle of the lake on different boats.

"Ready Alexis?" Yuki asked, activating his duel disk.

"Ready."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Alexis-LP 4000**

"Ladies first." Yuki offered with a friendly smile.

"My, what a gentlemen." Alexis said as she drew her sixth card. "Etoile Cyber rise!" A female monster in red clothing who resembled a ballerina appeared gracefully on Alexis' field. **Atk-1200 Def-1600**. "And I place one card and end my turn."

"My turn then." Yuki said, and his eyes widened in shock when he realized he'd grabbed his spellcaster deck.

"Something wrong?" Alexis asked frowning.

"No, I'm good." Yuki replied. "Okay, I'll summon Maha Vailo in attack mode." Yuki's light skinned, blue armored spellcaster rose in front of him. **Atk-1550 Def-1200**.

"Hold on." Alexis began slightly confused by the monster Yuki had summoned. "I thought you only ran a dragon deck."

"Nope." Yuki smiled while shaking his head. "I've had this spellcaster deck for years. And now I'll give my monster the equip spell Black Pendant!" A magnificent set of black opals draped themselves over Maha Vailo, increasing its attack. "Also, thanks to his effect, my monster gains an additional 500 attack for each equip spell!"

Maha Vailo **Atk-2550**

"Now, I'll attack you with my monster! Maha Vailo attack Etoile Cyber!" Yuki ordered, as his monster charged its attack.

"Not so fast! I have a trap Doble Passe!" Maha Vailo's attack bypassed Etoile Cyber, and hit Alexis directly.

 **Alexis-LP 1450**

"And now since your monster attacked me, my monster gets to attack you!" Alexis said, and Etoile Cyber kicked Yuki in the stomach.

 **Yuki-LP 2800**

Yuki groaned. "Oh man, I don't know what was worse. Falling into that trap, or the fact your monster wears heels."

"You impressed yet?" Alexis asked, as Yuki set two cards face down on his field.

"Impressed? You're amazing!" Yuki said, as he got back to his feet.

"You're cute, too bad I have to crush you." Alexis smirked as she drew her next card. "Now where were we? Oh, I'll summon Blade Skater, and then I'll use Pollymarization and fuse my two monsters to summon Cyber Blader!" The two monsters merged together creating a monster with blue hair and a red visor. **Atk-2100 Def-800**. "And then I'll play the spell card Fusion Weapon."

A red and black trident appeared on Cyber Blader's right arm. **Atk-3600**.

"Oh not good…" Yuki groaned.

"Not for you anyway." Alexis smirked. "Cyber Blader, attack!"

A beam of electricity blasted Maha Vailo to pieces.

 **Yuki-LP 1750**

 **Alexis-LP 950**

"What happened? Why did my life points go down?" Alexis asked confused.

"It was my Black Pendant equip card." Yuki replied. "When it's destroyed, you take 500 points of damage."

"He's really good." Fujin said smiling.

"Yeah…" Jasmine admitted. "I wonder what else Yuki's gonna bring out."

"Okay, my draw…" ' _This isn't good, I'll need a good draw now, or I'll lose the duel.'_ Yuki drew his new card, and smiled. "Okay, I play Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two more cards." And Yuki's eyes widened in shock. "I special summon Palladium Oracle Mahad!"

The spellcaster summoned looked exactly like Mahad had 5000 years ago, the only difference was the lack of his Millenium Item, and the staff in his right hand. **Atk-2500 Def-2100**.

"Then I'll activate one of my face down cards, Magical Dimension!" A gold sarcophagus appeared behind Mahad, and he vanished into it. "Now by sacrificing one of my monsters, I can special summon another monster. Rise, Neo the Magic Swordsman!"

A warrior in regal looking armor, a dark cape, long sandy blond hair and a sword appeared from the sarcophagus. **Atk-1700 Def-1000**. "And thanks to my spell cards effect, I can now destroy one monster on my opponent's field!"

Alexis' eyes widened. "But that means…"

"Your Cyber Blader is toast." Yuki smirked, as Cyber Blader was also sucked into the sarcophagus.

' _Ready parter?'_ Neo asked, looking over his shoulder at Yuki.

"Ready. Go Neo, attack directly!" Yuki ordered, and Neo raced towards Alexis, slashed his sword down diagonally.

 **Alexis-LP 0000**

"Alexis?" Mindy asked, completely shocked at the results of the duel.

' _I thought I had him, but he managed to stay ahead of me the entire duel.'_ Alexis thought.

"Well, I won so we get to go free." Yuki said, his duel disk deactivating.

"A deal is a deal." Alexis smiled.

"I'm sorry about what happened, but that was an amazing duel Alexis, you're really good." Yuki smiled shaking her hand. "Maybe we could hang out again sometime. You know, without the threat of expulsion on the line."

"Absolutely Yuki, I'll definately be coming after you for a rematch." Alexis smiled.

"You're on." Yuki smiled, as he began to row away with Cyrus.

' _Even if I did win, I never could have turned those two in. This place is a lot more fun with these guys here.'_ Alexis thought.

* * *

"Okay Cy." Yuki chuckled, as they reached the opposite bank and got out of the boat. "Think you can get back to your dorm without getting into more trouble?"

"Yeah." Cyrus laughed, before Yuki handed him Jaden's pda.

"Can you give that back to him?" Yuki asked, also laughing.

"No problem, see you Yuki." Cyrus waved, before the two headed back to their respective dorms.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days before Duel Academy's placement exams, two students in the Slifer exams were busy going over their decks, making revisions and coming up with different strategies.

Yumei, who had taken Yuki's dorm upon her twin's moving to Ra was devising a plan to better get her three ace monsters out faster. "So there's the normal way by tributing 3 other monsters, and that triggers his effect. I can also use Cost Down, and then use Call of the Haunted or Monster Reborn in conjunction. And then I can use Release Restraint. And if I can get my two Valkyries on the field, they're not touching me at all."

Yumei nodded, approving of her strategy. "But maybe a few more cards wouldn't hurt. Well, card shop it is!"

"Okay, so there's DNA Surgery and Insect Barrier." The Slifer that Yuki had helped on their first day said while looking over his deck. His name was Miko Myazaki. He had barely passed on both his written and practical exam, as he was so nervous about making a mistake during his duel, and heavily embarrassing himself. Worse still, was that he'd been so nervous at making such a large mistake during another duel, he hadn't dueled since arriving on the island.

Miko groaned. "Oh who am I kidding…? I'll never make it into the Ra dorms…"

He groaned, getting out of his chair. Miko decided to go to the card shop at the main building, as for some reason it always seemed to make him feel better. He grabbed his deck, as he was paranoid that someone would mess with it, before leaving his dorm.

* * *

Miko's eyes widened. One rare card spread across several packs was lucky for him, but three in one? He vaguely wondered what god took pity on him, when he was snapped back to reality by another voice close by.

"Th-there's no way…" It was a girls voice from somewhere behind him. Curious, Miko turned his attention to whoever it was, and briefly for a moment thought he saw Yuki, but then remembered Yuki had been transferred to Ra. This was his twin.

Yumei's shock soon turned to giddy laughter. "I finally found one~"

"Um… get something good?" Miko asked, slowly approaching Yumie.

"Yeah!" Yumei replied with an elated giggle, before noting the cards in Miko's hand. "You get anything good?"

"U-uh yeah…" Miko said shyly, showing Yumei what he had drawn from the pack he had purchased.

"Woah… those are super rare." Yumei said, her eyes widened when she saw just what it was that Miko had pulled. "Maybe secret rare."

"Well if they're that rare." A new voice said, before a hand reached out in an attempt to take Miko's rare cards. "Then they belong with me."

Instinctively, Yumei grabbed the offender's hand. Roughly yanking the hand away from Miko's cards. "Don't you even think about it. Taking someone else's cards is a real low down thing to do."

Yumei had the left arm of Chazz Princeton in a vice like grip, and was holding it an awkward angle which had forced Chazz to one knee. "Argh! Get your hand off me you Slifer Slime! Nobody touches Chazz Princeton!"

"Looks like I just did." Yumei said icily. "You want rare cards, buy them like everyone else in this academy."

It was then Miko had a sudden idea … a really stupid idea, because he'd never picked up his duel disk. "U-um… why don't we duel for them? If you win… you can have these cards."

"Hey are you serious?" Yumei asked, still keeping her grip on Chazz's arm. "If you lose, you'll lose those awesome cards."

"W-well, I haven't dueled since getting here … but neither has this guy." Miko replied.

"I only duel the best at this school!" Chazz growled, before Yumei put more torque on his arm.

"Put your money where your mouth is." She said icily yet again. "Duel."

"Fine…" Chazz growled relenting, before Yumei released his arm. "But when I win, those rare cards are mine."

* * *

"Duel!"

 **Miko-LP 4000**

 **Chazz-LP 4000**

Chazz and Miko were dueling in front of the academy's main building. Yumei was watching, while standing next to her classmate.

"Since I outrank you, i'll draw first." Chazz smirked. "I activate Cost Down! By sending a monster card from my hand to my graveyard, I can summon a higher level monster! So I summon Mefist the Infernal General!" A warrior clad in dark armor, with an equally looking dark horse appeared on Chazz's field. **Atk-1800 Def-1700**. "Then I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

Miko gulped, as he drew his sixth card. "O-okay… I guess I'll summon Petite Moth in defense mode, but then I'll summon the Cocoon of Evolution which is treated as an equip card for my moth. Now my insect monster's points are treated the same as the Cocoon."

The small green moth crawled inside of the large cocoon in front of Miko. **Atk-0 Def-2000**. "Then I play the spell card Insect Barrier, and set one card face down and end my turn."

Chazz smirked. "Perfect, now I can activate my trap card. Call of the Haunted. Now I can bring back the monster I sent to the graveyard with Cost Down. Now come back Cthonian Emperor Dragon!" A large fierce looking black dragon materialized in front of Chazz. **Atk-2400 Def-1500**.

"Not good." Yumei said, knowing that monsters effect. "That monster can attack twice in one turn."

"Yeah, and that means, I can win this now!" Chazz smirked. "Go dragon, attack and win me this Slifer Slacker's rare cards!"

"Not this turn…" Miko said softly. "I have a trap; DNA Surgery. Now all monsters summoned to the field are insects."

"Perfect!" Yumei said smiling, as Cthonian Emperor Dragon hit a barrier of criss-crossing yellow lines. "Now Chazz can't attack you at all."

Chazz scoffed in irritation. "Lucky break."

"Alright, my turn." Miko said drawing his next card. "And I'll play Card of Sanctity. Now we both draw until we have 6 cards." Miko's eyes widened, when he saw what was now in his hand. "Now I'll summon Armored Hornet in attack mode."

A large hornet with yellow and black colored armor on its thorax and stinger buzzed angrily as Miko summoned it. **Atk-1600 Def-1200**. "And his effect, is that when he attacks, the monster that is attacked loses half of its attack points."

' _Miko's good. For not having dueled since he's gotten here he's got some real tallent, and he's made no mistakes so far.'_ Yumei thought to herself, as Miko's turn continued.

"B-but I'm not done. See I used one of the rare cards we're dueling for, and it's a special variant of a monster; Superior Cocoon of Evolution. It cuts the time I need to summon one of my Greath Moth monsters in half. And now Chazz, my cocoon is hatching, and you're gonna meet My Greath Moth!" Miko's cocoon cracked, and a large green moth crawled out of it. **Atk-2600 Def-2500**.

"Armored Hornet attack Emperor Dragon!" The large hornet buzzed angrily as it flew towards the dark looking dragon.

Emperor Dragon **Atk-2400-1200**.

Armored Hornet plunged its armored stinger into the dragon, which melted from the poison in the stinger.

 **Chazz-LP 3600**

"And now my Great Moth attacks Mefist!" A large gust of wind formed from the intense flapping of Great Moth's wings, which ripped Mefist to pieces.

 **Chazz-LP 2800**

"And now I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Miko set a card into his duel disk, as his turn ended.

"Hey check it out, someone's dueling!" Jaden's voice called out, before the Slifer student ran up to see who it was. He was joined seconds later by Cyrus, and Chumley who was heavily out of breath.

"Why do we always run?" Chumley complained, while trying to catch his breath.

Chazz looked irritated at Jaden's arrival. "Alright fine, my turn. I play Monster Reborn and bring back Cthonian Emperor Dragon!" The dark looking dragon once again appeared on Chazz's field. **Atk-2400 Def-1500**. "And I'm not done there, I'll summon Cthonian Soldier in defense mode.

A dark angry looking warrior with a wicked looking blade appeared on Chazz's field. **Atk-1200 Def-1400**. "And that's not all, I activate the spell card Infernal Reckless Summon! It allows us to summon as many monsters from our hand, deck, and graveyard that are the same name of whatever monsters we have on the field. And I know just the monsters to bring out."

Two more dark soldiers appeared on Chazz's field, as another Armored Hornet appeared on Miko's field.

"But I'm not finished yet, I have another spell card to play. The equip card Cthonian Alliance! This card gives any monster 800 attack points for each monster on the field with the same name as the equipped monster." Chazz smirked, as his middle soldier grew up to three times its original size.

Cthonian Soldier. **Atk-3600**.

"Not licious." Chumley said worried.

"Miko's fine, he's got Insect Barrier and DNA Surgery on his field." Jaden said smiling. "Miko's got this."

"Not for long he doesn't." Chazz said with an evil smirk. "I have this card! Mystical Space Typhoon, and now I'll use it to destroy that Insect Barrier!"

"N-not g-gonna happen Chazz." Miko said, as the reveal of Chazz's spell card made him nervous once again. "I h-have a trap card to play. My f-face down Magic Jammer."

"Alright, now Chazz's card is history." Jaden's smile grew, as Miko discarded one card to his graveyard.

"Fine." Chazz growled. "Make your move."

"Okay…" Miko said, as he drew his next card. "I'm gonna play my own Monster Reborn, and bring back my monster that I discarded. Come back to my field Insect Queen!" A large female looking spider rose to Yuki's field next to his Great Moth. **Atk-2500 Def-2400**.

"Now that's licious." Chumley said, even though he was creeped out by the sight of all of Miko's insect monsters.

"And her effect makes her stronger." Cyrus said pointing to the spider monster.

Insect Queen. **Atk-3600**

"Awsome, now she's just as powerful as Chazz's soldier!" Jaden's smile grew, as he was getting fired up from watching this duel.

"But Insect Queen can't attack unless Miko tributes one monster." Yumei said, wondering if Miko had anything else up his sleeve.

"B-but my move isn't done yet Chazz." Miko said, taking two more cards from his hand. "I'll play Block Attack, which forces one of your monsters into defense mode. And I chose your powerful Cthonian Soldier."

Chazz Scoffed, as his monster took a knee. "Big deal, it doesn't change anything."

Cthonian Soldier **Def-1400**

"And then I'll summon my Pinch Hopper in defense mode, but he won't be sticking around for long. I sacrifice him so my Insect Queen can attack your defending soldier." Everyone winced, when Insect queen gobbled up Pinch Hopper, before doing the same to Chazz's largest Cthonian Solder.

"Big deal, I didn't lose any life points." Chazz huffed. "And your overgrown spider got weaker."

Insect Queen **Atk-3600**

"Wait, hold on, your monster should be weaker." Chazz said in confusion.

"Not with her effect." Miko explained. "Once she destroys a monster, I get an insect token like the one on my field." And true to his word, there was a small egg on Miko's field. **Atk-100 Def-100**.

"Big deal." Chazz scoffed.

"And now my Armored Hornet destroys your dragon. And don't forget about his effect, he cuts your monsters attack in half."

Chtonian Emperor Dragon **Atk-1200**

Yet again, the dark dragon melted when Armored Hornet stung it.

 **Chazz-LP 2400**

"And with one last card face down, I end my turn." Miko said, placing his card into his duel disk.

"Alright fine." Chazz growled. "Then I'll sacrifice one of my Soldiers along with all the cards in my hand to summon Infernal Incinerator!" A large pillar of flame engulfed the chosen soldier, and taking its place was a large feindish-like salamander creature,with the upper body of Cthonian soldier. **Atk-2800 Def-1800**

"Oh and lets not forget my monsters special ability." Chazz said mockingly. "He gets an extra 200 attack for every monster on your field

Infernal Incinerator **Atk-3800**

"That makes Chazz's monster stronger than Insect Queen…" Cyrus groaned.

"It's okay Cy." Jaden said, lightly shaking his friends shoulder. "Miko still has his Insect Barrier up. And with DNA Surgery still on the field, Chazz can't attack."

"Yeah… But I still have the feeling that Chazz is planning on bringing out something even worse…" Cyrus said worriedly.

"My turn." Miko smiled. The card he had just drawn, was going to end the duel. "It's over now Chazz. I activate the spell card Murmur of the Forest. With it, I can change all your monsters to face down defense position!"

Chazz looked shocked at this news, as Infernal Incinerator was flipped face down. "Wait, what? But that means…!"

"By sacrificing my insect token, Insect Queen can destroy your monster!" Insect Queen devoured Chazz's monster, after consuming her own token, before laying another egg. "Now go Great Moth, attack Chthonan Solder!"

Great Moth flapped its large wings, that once again created a powerful gust of wind that ripped apart Chazz face down solder.

"And now my hornets attack directly!" Both of Milo's hornets stung Chazz in the abdomen melting away his life points.

 **Chazz-LP 0000**

Chazz grumbled as he walked away. "Lousy Slifer…"

Miko blinked in shock, as the realization that he had won his first duel since coming to Duel Academy set in. And he'd dueled and defeated an Obelisk Blue student. He began chuckling to himself, which gave away to full on laughter. "I won!"

* * *

The day before the first year placement exams found those particular students in Professor Banner's class, while the perpetually smiling and relaxed teacher was finishing his lecture.

"Now remember class, tomorrow's exam will be divided into two parts. Like your entrance exam, you will have both a written examination, which I will be in charge of, and practical dueling exam. Should you do well on both, you may have the opportunity to move to the next dorm."

"Or in my case, stay at the top." Chazz said, which earned a few glares from the other students. Most notably Yuki and Yumie, who knew exactly what had transpired a few days ago. Even Torimaki gave Chazz a look that said he shouldn't be talking so much smack, since he's lost every duel he's been in.

"Yes, thank you Mr. Princeton." Professor Banner said. "I wish you all good luck tomorrow, class dismissed."

"Hey Yuki." A voice got the Ra's attention. He turned around and saw Alexis was the one who had called out to him as the class slowly emptied. "I was wondering if you'd like to study for the exams tomorrow."

Yuki felt his face turn red. "Ah, s-sure."

Unbeknownst to the two, another student was watching the exchange, and was positively seething in anger and jealously.

"Who does that wretch think he is? Talking to Alexis so formally. He should know that Alexis is mine…"

* * *

"So here's the actual order." Yuki explained to Alexis. The two had taken to studying in the school's library, as they were both concerned people would talk if the two studied in private. Yuki had laid out several cards on the table they were using for an example. "A trap card has priority over a magic card, a quick play spell has priority over the trap, a reverse trap will have priority over the quick play spell, and a monster effect has priority over everything."

"So I did have that wrong." Alexis mused, following Yuki's example of the cards laid out. Though she did have something to add … a small test. "So what if someone summoned Jinzo, and Mask of Restrict was played before Jinzo hit the field…"

"Well Jinzo may cancel out all traps, unless the controller plays the Amplifier card." Yuki answered. "But Mask of Restrict cancels out the summoning of the monster, so Jinzo couldn't cancel out Mask of Restrict, since he never hit the field."

"Oh you are good." Alexis smiled, which made Yuki's cheeks turn red. ' _And he's really cute when he blushes too.'_ "I think you'll ace the written exam tomorrow."

"Thanks Alexis." Yuki said smiling. "But it's not the written exam I'm worried about."

"Oh come on, you'll do great on the practical." Alexis reassured. "You haven't lost a duel here yet, and I highly doubt you'll lose tomorrow."

* * *

The day of the placement exams, a fleet of warships and fighter planes were heading straight for academy island. "Well everyone, it's been a long journey, and it seems like everyone's been after us. But it's about to all pay off soon. We'll arrive at our destination with our payload intact. Full speed ahead. This is the moment we've been waiting for, the moment Duel Academy get their new rare cards."

That morning in the Slifer dorms, Cyrus was praying in front of a large poster with the Egyptian god card Slifer printed on it. "Please, please, please let me pass this test. I don't want to be stuck in this red jacket forever. N-not that there's anything wrong with red. I-I mean it looks good on you Slifer, but I really want to be a Ra Yellow."

Yumei knocked on Cyrus' door the second his alarm clock went off.

"SLIFER!" Cyrus cried out in alarm, in the same moment Yumei opened the door.

"Relax Cyrus it's just me." She said while trying to hold back her laughter.

Cyrus sighed, and turned off his alarm clock. "And as usual, Jaden sleeps through the alarm." Cyrus stood up, went over to Jaden. "Come on Jaden wake up, tests are today." But it was to no avail, as Jaden knocked him away while continuing to sleep.

"Wrong!" Jaden said in his sleep. "Because I played a trap!"

"Why can't he ever be dreaming in defense mode when I wake him up?" Cyrus groaned, as Yumei helped the smaller boy to his feet.

"Duh Cyrus." Chumley said from the topmost bunk. "You shouldn't be waking him up at all. After our written test we have our field test, so we should let Jaden sleep. Get what I mean?"

"Chumley, I never get anything you say. Cyrus replied, as Yumei left for the main building.

"The field test pairs you up against classmates in the same dorm, and I don't want to duel the guy who beat Dr. Crowler. Jaden sleeps in, we're good. Get it?"

"Yeah I get it Chumley. And I'm starting to get why you were held back for three years." Cyrus replied trying to wake Jaden up yet again. "Jaden come on, wake up." The alarm on Cyrus' watch beeped, and he rushed out of the dorm. "I'll save you a seat!"

Chumley simply shrugged. "Oh well, Plan B."

* * *

"Man, Chumley sure can cook!" Jaden said after finally waking up. He was running as fast as he could towards the main building of the academy. "A five course breakfast."

As Jaden neared the main building he passed by a woman wearing a pink blouse, blue overalls, and glasses. "Well let's see? Do I help or be on time?" He asked, before running back down the hill. "Never fear, Jaden's here!"

"Oh thank you." The woman sounded incredibly relieved. "You must be from the auto club."

"Don't let the red jacket fool you, I'm just your average good deed dude."

* * *

Meanwhile in the exam room, everyone was working on the written portion of their exams, when Professor Banner spoke up.

"You all have 45 minutes to complete your exams."

"A field spell counters a normal spell…" Cyrus said while fast asleep.

"I didn't know this was an oral exam." Jaden said waking Cyrus up. "Maybe next time you should skip the Slifer Seance."

"Hey slacker, keep it down. Some of us are trying to pass." Chazz growled in irritation.

"Hey I try to pass … it just doesn't always end up that way." Jaden said, with his perpetual smile on his face.

"Jaden, why don't you come down here and get your exam." Professor Banner gave an amused huff of laughter, while stroking the fur on his over large cat Pharoh.

"Be there in a jiff!"

' _He better be. We're 15 minutes into this, and he'll be lucky to finish.'_ Alexis thought, looking up from her exam.

Bastion shook his head. ' _Look at him, if only he applied himself he could be a great duelist.'_

' _Good luck buddy.'_ Yuki thought, turning his attention back to his exam.

* * *

At the hour mark, Professor Banner called an end to the written portion of the exam. "Alright class, the written exam is over. Now please, walk don't run to get in line for today's new rare cards."

"They're here!?" One student asked.

Yuki sighed, catching Alexis' eye. He held up three fingers, counting down until the last finger curled into his fist, which made Alexis giggle at the mad dash the rest of the students made to get to the card shop.

"Guess people want all those rare cards." Yumei mused, rubbing the back of her head.

"It would appear so." Bastion said, shaking both Jaden and Cyrus who had fallen asleep. "Come on you two, wake up."

"Huh?" Jaden asked stretching. "Where is everyone?"

"At the card shop, hoping to use today's rare cards in today's field test." Bastion replied.

"What rare cards?" Cyrus asked. "Nobody told us."

"That's because everyone wants the best cards for themselves." Yuki said.

"Then why aren't you guys going?" Cyrus asked yet again.

Bastion simply shook his head. "Oh pease, one errant card and the balance of my deck is thrown off."

"Yeah, I'm good too." Yuki said. "My decks are strong enough to beat anything the field test has for me."

"I drew a couple of really good cards a few days ago, so I'm all set." Yumei said, grabbing her duel disk.

"Well my deck wouldn't mind." Cyrus said.

"Well then let's go!" Jaden said excitedly as he and Cyrus ran off. "There's nothing like the smell of new cards!"

* * *

At the card shop, a sea of students were waiting rather impatiently to get in.

"Oh children." Someone in a military uniform said, getting the student's attention. "Looking for these?" He placed a hand on the metal briefcase next to him, much to the delight of the students. "Then come and get them!"

The soldier opened the case, only to reveal that it was empty which made all the gathered students groan in disappointment.

"We're sorry…" The girl working the counter said. "It is first come, first serve."

"Yes, and I was first." Said a man in a dark coat. "So I took all of them!"

* * *

In an empty hallway, Raizou and Torimaki were explaining just what had happened in the card shop to Chazz.

"We couldn't get you a single one Chazz, sorry…" Raizou said, looking at the ground.

Chazz growled. "You know what's sorry? You two. But it doesn't matter, because no student here can beat me, no matter what cards they have in their deck."

"Unless that student is Jaden Yuki." A man's voice said, getting their attention.

"That's him Chazz!" Torimaki said pointing to the man dressed in the dark coat.

"What's the matter Chazz? Don't you recognize me?" The man took off his hat revealing it was Dr. Crowler.

"You looked better covered up." Chazz said simply, causing the head of Obelisk to face fault.

"Well I know a way to make us all look better, and it starts with you beating Jaden in todays field test." Crowler said smirking, revealing the rare cards in his coat.

"Now that's style!" Raizou said.

"But we're not in the same dorm, they won't let us duel." Chazz replied.

"You just let me worry about that." Crower said smirking. "And you, Torimaki was it? I believe you have a score to settle with Yumei Hyoudou correct?"

"Is there room for one more in all of this?" Another voice said getting everyone's attention. He was an Obelisk with dark wavy blue hair, and heterocromatic blue and green eyes.

"Lance?" Crowler asked. "Lance Osbourne, what are you doing here?"

"I followed you." The Obelisk named Lance answered in response to Crowler's question. "I want in on this, because I want to put Yuki Hyoudou in his place."

Crowler thought for a moment, before agreeing. "Alright fine, this should be interesting to say the least."

* * *

Yuki smiled, as Alexis had just finished her practical duel. "You were great out there."

Alexis smiled, taking a seat next to Yuki. "Thanks, your match is coming up soon isn't it?"

"Yeah, I should be one of the next-"

" _Will Yuki Hyoudou please report to exam field 4. Yuki Hyoudou to exam field 4."_

"Well, gotta go." Yuki said.

"Hopefully you'll win." Alexis said smiling. "It would be nice to see more people like you in Obelisk."

"If my exam results are high enough." Yuki replied with a small laugh, before he made his way to the exam field.

' _With the way you know your way around this sport, you'll make it into Obelisk. There's no doubt.'_ Alexis thought.

' _ **BURN IT DOWN!'**_

"Guess that wasn't a one time thing." Yuki laughed, as the music played as he entered his exam field … to find another Obelisk student standing across from him.

"Huh… You're not a Ra." Yuki mused, as Lance scowled at him.

"A special gift from a friend." Lance said continuing to scowl. "I'm going to knock you down a peg, send you back to Slifer, and enjoy every second of it."

"You can try." Yuki replied activating his duel disk.

"Oh I'll do more than try. I'll succeed."

"Duel!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Lance-LP 4000**

"So … can I ask why you're dueling me? And the cause of your dislike of me?" Yuki asked, as he and Lance drew five cards off the top of his deck.

Lance's eyes narrowed maliciously. "You're spending far too much time with Alexis, and it ends today!"

"Weird…" Yuki mused as the two stared at one another. "She never told me she was with anybody."

"And you'll be staying away from her when _I_ win!" Lance growled, drawing a sixth card. "I summon Skull Knight in defense mode!"

A sinister looking armored skeleton had appeared on Lance's field. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**. "Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

Up in the stands, Alexis' friends Jasmine and Mindy were giving her confused looks. "I didn't know you were with anybody Lex."

"Yeah." Jasmine said backing Mindy up. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm not seeing anybody." Alexis huffed irritated at Lance's words. ' _Hopefully Yuki beats this creep.'_

"Alright, then I draw." Yuki pulled the card off the top of his deck, assessing his hand. "Okay, I'll start off by playing the spell card Dragon Shrine. I play this, and send a dragon monster from my hand to the graveyard."

Yuki sent his chosen card to the graveyard slot on his duel disk, and smiled when he saw an old familiar dragon monster in his hand. "Next I'll summon my Kumori Dragon in attack mode!"

A small dragon with black and red scales growled once it appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-1500 Def-1000**. "Okay, now my dragon attacks your skull knight!"

A stream of fire from Yuki's dragon blasted Skull Knight into smoke and pixels, which only caused Lance to smirk evilly.

"You've activated my monster's effect. When he's destroyed by battle, I can summon another Skull Knight!" A second skeletal knight appeared on Lance's field. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**. "Now It's my turn, and I'll summon Witch of the Black Forest in defense mode."

A rather morose looking woman with dark clothing and a third eye on her forehead appeared on Lance's field upon being summoned. **Atk-1100 Def-800**. "And my turn comes to its end."

' _Okay, now this is weird. All he's done is play defense.'_ Yuki thought as he drew his next card. However, up in the stands Bastion had already figured out part of Lance's strategy.

"He's trying to bring out something far stronger, so he's playing monsters that allow him to search his deck." The Ra student's brow had knitted together as he continued thinking about Lance's strategy. "But what is it that he's attempting to draw out…?"

"Okay, I'll place a card face down, and then summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!" A large dragon with jewel like scales roared as Yuki summoned it. **Atk-2000 Def-100**. "Now Alexandrite Dragon, attack Lance's Witch!"

Bright flames incinerated the monster, though Lance's life points did not drop since she was in defense mode. "I really should thank you, because now her effect kicks in, allowing me to search my deck for a monster with less than 1500 defense, and add it to my hand."

' _Uh oh. I'm not liking how this is going… I may have to play things safe here.'_ Yuki thought, as he considered what he should do. "Alright, I'll set another card face down and end my turn."

Lance could only smirk. ' _That's right you little punk, but ending your turn there, isn't going to save you. Especially from what I just drew thanks to my Witch.'_ "Since you have two monsters on your field, I can summon this; my Fiend Megacyber!" A large menacing looking warrior in gold armor rose onto Lance's field. **Atk-2200 Def-1200**.

"But I'm not done there. I reveal my trap; Crush Card Virus!" Everyone gasped in shock when the Obelisk revealed his trap card, and Yuki felt fear surge through his stomach. "By sacrificing a monster with 1000 or less attack, I can destroy all my opponent's monsters with more than 1500 attack, and you have to discard all monsters you draw with 1500 or more attack points!"

Another surge of fear shot through Yuki, when his two dragons turned a sickly shade of purple and slowly dissolved. "If that's how it has to be, I'll at least buy myself one turn. I activate my own trap; Threatening Roar!"

Lance winced as a loud roar sounded from Yuki's trap card. "It's one turn, that's all it buys you. But since I used my Skull Knight as tribute, I can summon my third and final one." The same skeletal looking knight appeared where its two predecesors had been

"This isn't good…" Yumei said worriedly. "For the next three turns, any monster Yu draws that has 1500 or more attack, he'll have to discard it…"

Yuki's right hand began shaking. He'd played into Lance's hands from the very start of this duel, and was suddenly aware of how many people had seen that move. "O-okay, my turn… A-and I'll play Pot of Greed."

Yuki sighed in relief when he drew his next two cards. Both of which were monsters, but neither of them had 1500 attack points. "Alright… I'll summon my exploder dragon in attack mode, and then end my turn." A blue scaled dragon holding some sort of explosive appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-1000 Def-800**.

"You call that a move?" Lance scoffed, as he drew his next card. "No, this is a move. I'll tribute my last skull knight, and summon Jinzo!" a large menacing creature with black and green armor, and a mask whos straps wrapped around its head (which showed its brain) appeared where Skull Knight had been. **Atk-2400 Def-1500**.

"And now, my Fiend Megacyber will destroy that pathetic excuse for a dragon!" The large warrior charged, it's fist hammering down onto Exploder Dragon who shattered in a sower of pixels. "Hey, check your gear. Your life points haven't dropped."

"Th-that's because of my monsters effect." Yuki explained, trying his best to once again focus on dueling Lance. "I don't take any damage from whatever monster attacked … and when my dragon is destroyed, the monster that destroyed him goes away too."

"What!?" Lance cried out in shock, when the explosive that Exploder Dragon had been carrying detonated, destroying Fiend Megacyber. "It doesn't matter, because now I can attack you directly with Jinzo!"

Jinzo hurled a ball of energy at Yuki, which struck him in the stomach, and making him drop to one knee.

 **Yuki-LP 1600**

"Oh no…" Alexis said worriedly. "If Yuki takes another attack from Jinzo he'll lose…"

"Come on Yu, fight back." Yumei said, as her fingers tightly clenched.

"Gotta do something about that Jinzo…" Yuki groaned, getting back to his feet and drawing his next card. "That will work. I summon Lesser Dragon in attack mode." A small dragon with green scales appeared on Yuki's field, baring its fangs at Jinzo. **Atk-1400 Def-800**. "But I'm not done, I'm giving him the equip card Draconic Armor."

Yuki's dragon had a set of armor grafted onto its scales one piece at a time, however it did not raise the attack of Lesser Dragon which confused Lance.

"What was the point of that, if your monster's attack didn't go up?" Lance frowned.

"Because, now my monster can't be destroyed in battle, and I don't take any battle damage." Yuki replied, which made Lance's frown deepen.

"Nothing but pure luck, Alexis will never go for a guy like you." Lance snarled, drawing his next card and grinning. "I activate Card of Sanctity. Now we draw until we have 6 cards in our hands."

Yuki drew his six cards, but ended up having to discard 3 of the cards he drew, which only made Lance smile all the more.

"What's the matter? Oh that's right, my Crush Card is devistating your deck." Lance said chuckling. "Unfortunately for you, _I_ don't have that problem. Now I'll activate Double Summon and Cost Down, so I'll summon my Headless Knight, but he's not sticking around because I sacrifice him to summon Bellial Marquess of Darkness!"

With a storm of black feathers, a dark looking fallen angel with a large black blade appeared on Lance's field. **Atk-2800 Def-2400**.

' _Careful partner.'_ Neo's spirit manifested beside Yuki. ' _That new creature is dangerous.'_

"I know, but he can't hurt me as long as my monster has it's equip card." Yuki replied, as Neo cast his partner a worried look.

"I'll be dealing with that annoying armor soon." Lance growled. "I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn." Two more cards appeared face down behind Lance's monsters as his turn ended.

"Okay, my draw now." Yuki said, drawing his next card, which was unfortunately Drago Warrior so he had no choice but to discard it. "Well if I can't play that monster, I'll summon Decoy Dragon in attack mode."

A small adorable dragon appeared on Yuki's field, earning a few 'awwww's' from the female students in the crowd. **Atk-300 Def-400**

"That was your turn?" Lance asked, nearly on the verge of laughter. "That was pathetic, and you played him in attack mode? How stupid can you get?"

"Put down my deck one more time, you'll pay for it." Yuki glared at Lance. He suddenly had a burning desire to take him down several pegs.

"Like you can do anything while being affected by my Crush Card." Lance scoffed. "Bellial attack that pathetic dragon!" The dark angel raised it's blade to destroy Decoy Dragon, unaware that this small adorable dragon had a rather powerful effect.

"Not so fast Lance, my dragon's effect activates!" Yuki said, which made Lance's eyes widened in shock.

"What!?"

"Oh yeah, by attacking him, I can bring out a level 7 or higher dragon monster from my graveyard, and your monster has to attack that. Instead of my Decoy Dragon." Yuki explained.

"But there's nothing in your deck that can match my Bellial, except for your fusions! And my Crush Card has been making you discard your monsters!" There was a hint of panic in Lance's voice. "There's no way you have anything as powerful in your deck other than Horus, and you can't bring him out without the correct cards!"

"Normally you'd be right." A smile was growing on Yuki's face. "But the monster I'm talking about wasn't affected by your crush card!"

"What do you…?" Lance's eyes widened further as he remembered Yuki's first move. "Dragon shrine… you discarded that monster at the very beginning. Don't tell me… you planned this far ahead!?"

"Just like when I fell into your trap Lance, you walked right into mine!" Yuki's smile grew at the panicked look on Lance's face. "Now it's time for you to meet my monster! Rise, Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

A gasp came from the crowd, as Yuki revealed yet another powerful monster. Blue Eyes gave a mighty roar as it rose from Yuki's graveyard. It snarled at Bellial when it caught the dark angel's blade in it's mouth. **Atk-3000 Def-2500**.

"And since you attacked Decoy Dragon, your monster has to attack my Blue Eyes instead!" Yuki explained, as Blue Eyes bit down on Bellial's sword, shattering it before blasting the powerful dark monster away.

 **Lance-LP 3800**

"Now it's my turn. Draw!" Yuki smirked upon drawing his newest card. "Sorry Lance but this is over. First, I'll tribute Lesser Dragon, and summon my Tiger Dragon." The green scaled dragon dissolved, only for a more serpentine looking orange scaled dragon with tiger stripes to take its place. **Atk-2400 Def-1800**.

"And now I'll use my dragon's effect. See when he's summoned to the field, I can select two cards in my opponent's back row and destroy them." Tiger Dragon let out a roar, before blasting two of Lance's face down cards off the field.

"Next I'll play my Monster Reborn magic card, and bring back a monster I had to discard thanks to your Crush Card. Come back, Tyrant Dragon!" A fierce looking dragon materialized next to Yuki's Blue Eyes, snarling at both Lance and Jinzo. **Atk-2900 Def-2500**.

"Now unfortunately, Tyrant Dragon can't be summoned back to the field unless I tribute another dragon monster. So I'll send Decoy Dragon to the graveyard. But I'm not finished just yet. I have one last card left to play, and it's been in my hand for a while, once again thanks to you." Yuki's comment made lance scowl angrily at the Ra student, before his eyes went wide at the reveal of Yuki's spell card. "Fissure. Now I get to destroy the weakest monster you have on your field Lance. And unfortunately for you, that would be your Jinzo."

"No! This isn't happening!" Lance was panicking, as Jinzo fell into an abyss that had opened up beneath the monster.

"Oh it's happening." Yuki replied, having regained his confidence. "Now, Tyrant Dragon attack!"

"Not so fast!" Lance's look of panic, quickly changed to a look of triumph. "I have one last card in my back row! And you just walked into another trap, that's keeping me in this duel! Draining Shield! Now your Tyrant Dragon's attack points get added to my life points!"

"Sorry Lance." Yuki began. "But my Tyrant Dragon has a similar effect to your Jinzo, in that he's not affected by traps. So his attack goes through!" Tyrant Dragon roared, sending a stream of flame at the Obelisk.

 **Lance-LP 900**

"And now Blue Eyes finishes this!" Blue Eyes reared up and roared at the command, before attacking Lance. "Direct attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

 **Lance-LP 0000**

Yuki let out a sigh of immense relief while the crowd cheered. ' _That was a close one. If I didn't end up drawing Decoy Dragon, or even my Draconic Armor, there was no chance of me winning that duel.'_

His attention then turned back to Lance, who had sunk to his knees when the realization of the loss had set in. "Lance, I don't gamble while my friends livelyhood his on the line. But there are always exceptions, and this is one of them. Since I won this duel, I want you to leave Alexis alone."

"Damnit…" Lance growled softly, before repeatedly hitting the ground with his fist. "Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit!"

* * *

"That was a sweet duel Yuki." Jaden smiled when the Ra sunk back into the seat next to Alexis.

"Yeah…" Yuki smiled, and there was a relieved laugh in Yuki's voice. "I was really nervous when he played Crush Card, since I've only had it played against me one other time."

"Who were you dueling against?" Alexis asked, but Yuki was spared giving and answer when Yumei was called down to the exam field.

* * *

"So we're finally gonna get the chance to settle things huh?" Yumei asked, as Torimaki stood across from her.

"Got that right." Torimaki replied activating his duel disk. "You ready?"

"Oh yeah."

"Duel!"

 **Yumei-LP 4000**

 **Torimaki-LP 4000**

"I'll go first." Yumei said while drawing her sixth card. "Alright, I activate my Double summon spell card. Now I can normal summon twice. So I'll summon both my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and my Command Knight." A large muscular knight, and a regal looking female warrior appeared on Yumei's field.

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-1400 Def-1200**

Command Knight **Atk-1200 Def-1900**

"Now since my Command Knight is on my field, her effect activates. Since I have another warrior on my field, you can't attack her. And while she's on the field, her and all other warriors get a 400 point boost."

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-1800**

Command Knight **Atk-1600**

"Then I'll set one card face down and end my turn." A card appeared face down behind Yumei's monster as her turn ended.

"Then it's my turn." Torimaki said as he drew. "I'll summon my Lord of Dragons in attack mode." A dark menacing man in dark clothing, dragon skull pauldrons and helmet appeared on Torimaki's field. **Atk-1200 Def-800**. "But we're not done there, I'll use my Flute of Summoning Dragon spell card and special summon two more dragons!"

Toriaki's monster blew on the dragon-like flute that appeared in front of him. A long low note sounded from it, as Torimaki placed two more cards onto his duel disk. "Meet my two newest monsters: Hyozanryu, and Seiyaryu."

Hyozanryu was a large dragon who's scales resembled bright shining diamonds. **Atk-2100 Def-2800**.

Seiyaryu was a wyvern-like monster with pink colored scales. **Atk-2500 Def-2300**

"Now I'll have my Seiyaryu attack your Celtic Guardian!" Torimaki's order made the pink scaled wyvern rear back and attack Yumei's monster with a burst of blue colored flames.

 **Yumei-LP 3300**

"Nice move, but my monster has an effect in that he can't be destroyed by battle." Yumei replied, even as her life points dropped.

"Either way, damage calculation still happens." Torimaki smirked, before speaking again. "So Hyozanryu attacks as well!"

Torimaki's other dragon attacked Celtic Guardian with a burst of bright white fire.

 **Yumei-LP 3000**

"Right then, my draw … and I'll play Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw 3 cards, though I have to discard 2." Yumei said, sending 2 of the 3 cards that she drew to the graveyard. "But now my trap triggers; Ungraceful Charity, allowing me to get back the cards I discarded."

"Woah, that's a smart play." Alexis said with a smile on her face.

"Just wait." Yuki said with a smile on his face that matched Alexis'. "It's about to get better."

"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked from the seat behind Yuki."

"Just wait and see." Yuki replied.

"Now I'll summon Gearfried the Iron Knight." Yumei placed a card on her duel disk summoning a monster encased in black armor. **Atk-1800 Def-1500**. "But then I'll play the spell card; Release Restraint! By tributing Gearfried, I can special summon his more powerful form Gearfried the Swordmaster!"

Gearfried's armor fell off, revealing a heavily muscled dark haired warrior. **Atk-2600 Def-2200**. "But we're not done there. Remember your duel with Yu? His promotion match?"

"What about it?" Torimaki asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"Well he's not the only one who can pull a powerful monsters." Yumei replied.

"Well, that goes without saying, but you still can only beat my Seiyaryu by 100 points." Torimaki replied as Command Knight's effect took hold.

Gerfried **Atk 3000**

"Make that 500…" Torimaki said nervously.

"Oh, it gets better." Yumei said, her confidence growing by the second. "I'll activate my Lightning Blade equip card to my Celtic Guardian." A large blade crackling with electricity appeared in Celtic Guardian's hands.

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-2600**

"Also, remember how Yu doesn't only run dragons? I don't just run warriors. See I'm about to play the two cards I got back with Ungraceful Charity. I'll fuse my Red Eyes with my newest card; The Claw of Hermos!"

Everyone in the card including Yuki gasped in shock when Yumei revealed her newest card.

"What!?"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"She has one too!?"

"Why did she not tell me!?" Yuki asked wide-eyed.

Yumei's Red Eyes sword materialized on her side of the field. **Atk-2400 Def-2000**. "And I'm sure you're familiar with my new monsters effect. He becomes an equip card to a warrior monster … like my Gearfried. And that means my monster's effect can activate. When he gets an equip card, I can destroy one monster on your field."

As Gearfried gripped the sword, his attack grew. **Atk-5400 Def-4200**.

"Now since I can't destroy your two dragons with my monster's effect, I'll target your Lord of Dragons!" Gearfried swung his blade, destroying Torimaki's Spellcaster. "Now I'll attack your Seiyaryu with Gearfried! Infernal Fire Slash!"

Gearfried leapt into the air, bringing its blade down on the pink scaled dragon, shattering it in an explosion of pixels.

 **Torimaki-LP 1100**

"Now Celtic Guardian attacks your Hyozanryu!" The muscular warrior, charged at the dragon, dragging the Lightning Blade along the ground before decapitating Hyozanryu.

 **Torimaki-LP 400**

"And now my Command Knight ends this duel! Direct attack!" Yumei's knight slashed Torimaki across the chest, reducing what had remained what was left of his life points.

 **Torimaki-LP 0000**

Yumei gave the crowd a wave as they exploded into applause.

* * *

"Wait seriously?" Yumei asked, now dressed in a yellow jacket with her sleeves rolled up. "You're not taking the promotion to Ra?"

Jaden smiled while shaking his head. "Nah, without Cy or Chumley, it just doesn't feel like home."

Cyrus could only sniffle, even though he was smiling like a fool.

"That's your call Jaden." Yuki sighed, while looking at the blue jacket Chancellor Sheppard had given him. "I still can't believe I scored high enough to get in…"

"Perfect score on the written exam, and you passed your practical by beating an Obelisk." Basion countered, while looking at Yuki's written test scores on his pda.

"It still feels weird that I'm already an Obelisk." Yuki mused while massaging his ribs, as he had only just escaped one of Fujin's hugs.

* * *

On the other side of the island, Lance was positively fuming over his loss to Yuki. "Damn you Hyoudou! I swear I will not rest until I have payback!"

Lance was so wrapped up in his anger and hatred of Yuki, he hadn't noticed he was wandering in an almost impenetrable darkness. Until a voice sounded from seemingly all around him. "It's revenge you want… I can help you with that."


	9. Chapter 9

Late at night on the far end of Academy Island stood the school's Abandoned Dorm. It was a run-down building that no student occupied … at least not anymore.

There was a gate that blocked the path to the dorm with a sign saying 'Do Not Enter' in the middle of said gate.

Alexis stood in front of this gate, before setting a rose in front of it. "Be at peace brother, wherever you are…"

* * *

Yuki woke the next morning thinking he was somewhere other than the Obelisk Dorms. In only a few weeks since arriving at the academy, he'd gone from a Slifer to an Obelisk, and as such was not used to the incredible comfort of the new bed in his dorm. "Obelisks actually live like this…?"

Yuki's question was muffled, as his head plopped back onto his pillow. As it was the weekend, he planned on sleeping in. Or at least that was the plan, until Yuki heard a knock on his door. So much for sleeping in he thought while getting out of his incredibly comfortable bed, and answering his door. Kai, Alexis, and Fujin were standing in his doorway fully dressed, and Kai's hand raised to knock on the door yet again.

"Morning Yu...ki…" Kai's voice trailed off, as he got a look at how Yuki was dressed, and the three Obelisks attempted to stifle their laughter.

"What are you…?" Yuki asked, before following their gaze to his pajama pants. They were adorned with the image of the cartoonish looking monster Dark Bunny. "Don't judge me."

* * *

Five minutes later, a now fully dressed Yuki was being shown around the Obelisk dorm by the three other Obelisks. Though Fujin was slightly fussing with a piece of Yuki's hair which was sticking up thanks to him not being used to those new pillows.

"So Alexis said you use spellcasters aside from your dragons?" Kai asked, the three now situated in the cafeteria of the blue dorm, which was more like a 5-star restaurant.

"Yeah." Yuki replied, showing Kai his new deck while Fujin finally got Yuki's pillow hair under control. "Remember me talking about Mahad being the Black Magician, and my older brother being the reincarnation of Mahad?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with this deck?" Kai asked, while looking over the deck.

"Well my older brother used this deck in the Battle City tournament, minus the Mahad card." Yuki explained, making Kai drop one of the cards he was looking at, which turned out to be Neo.

"This is Yuri Hyoudou's deck?" Kai asked, his eyes wide.

"Not technically. I built it, he used it." Yuki replied, and explained why Yuri had used this deck throughout Battle City.

"Lousy no good insect creep." Fujin huffed angrily, when Yuki explained that Weevil had stolen Yuki's locator card, effectively eliminating a younger Yuki from the tournament. She then picked up Yuki's Neo card. "There's a lot of ware on this card…"

"He was my first card." While Yuki explained, he swore he felt someone place a hand on his shoulder, which turned out to be the spirit of the magic swordsman. "Yuri gave him to me, so he deserves a place in this deck."

"Well I'm gonna have to duel this deck at some point." And there was an excited note in Kai's voice while he handed back Yuki's spellcasters. "Especially since-"

Fujin cut him off. "Kai's a bit of a fan of your older brother."

"And speaking of which." Alexis began. "Where is your older brother?"

"In America. Industrial Illusions is sponsoring a rather large tournament, and Pegasus personally invited Yuri." Yuki explained with a small smile on his face.

"So that means, he's not taking part in Battle City II." It wasn't a question Kai had posed, but a statement.

"Nope." Yuki replied, shaking his head. "Can't always be in the shadow of Yugi Moutou."

"So that duel?" Kai asked, sounding like a little kid asking for sweets in a candy shop.

"It'll have to wait, since I promised Torimaki I'd give him some help with his dragons today." Yuki replied, while placing his spellcasters back in the correct case.

"Ah darn, well rain check then." Kai smiled, ruffling Yuki's hair which made Fujin frown.

"Kai!" She huffed clearly annoyed. "I just got his hair settled.

* * *

Later in the day both Yuki and Torimaki could be found outside the Obelisk dorms. There was an additional outdoor eating area that Yui had not noticed earlier, which was where both boys were now.

"Okay, your chosen monsters are really good." Yuki mused while looking at the powerful dragons in Torimaki's deck. "You have good ways of getting them out onto the field, but you need better ways of getting them into your hand."

"Like what?" Torimaki asked, while the two Obelisks looked at all of Torimaki's extra cards, many of which were supplied by Dr. Crowler for the placement duels.

"Well, you have Defense Draw which will allow you to draw when your opponent attacks." Yuki began listing off the cards Torimaki had which would allow him to draw cards far more easily. "Graceful and Ungraceful Charity which Yumei likes using."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Torimaki replied. "The score is still 2-0, and I'm still hurting from the OTK she pulled in her last duel.

"Yeah…" Yuki inhaled sharply. "Why do you think _I_ don't duel against her?"

"She's OTK'd you?" Torimaki's eyes widened behind his round glasses.

"Every. Time." Yuki replied. "You have nothing to feel bad about. But if you add those cards to your deck, I don't think you'll have any problems."

"Well where are you going?" Torimaki asked, tilting his head.

"Slifer dorms." Yuki replied, and then explained further due to the confused look on Torimaki's face. "We're telling scary stories later tonight. Care to join?"

Torimaki quickly shook his head. "No, I'm good. I don't really go for scary or spooky things."

"Alright, well I'll see you around." Yuki said, before standing up from his seat and making for the Slifer dorms.

* * *

Later on that night, Yuki, Yumei, and the Slifer trio were gathered around a small table in the Slifer dorms. The scary storytelling already underway, as Syrus was currently telling his tale. "I went out into the woods, and underneath the full moon I see a path leading to a cavern that seems … abandoned. At the back of the cavern I see a mysterious lake. So I go to look very carefully, and just under the right angle of light at the very bottom of the lake, beyond my reflection I see a very rare and powerful card. Naturally I go to get it, but when I reach out for it … an arm shoots out of the water, grabs me and begins to pull me into the lake! AHHHHHH! Help me! Not the water! Not the water!" Cyrus cried out, actually pretending it was hapening to him.

"Come on Sy, water? Seriously?" Yuki asked, shrugging.

"Water's not so scary." Jaden said, backing Yuki up.

"Not even dirty swamp water?" Syrus asked, and Yumei shook her head while the while took a card off the large stack in front of the group. "You're right, only a chump would be scared of a story like that." Though unbeknownst to Syrus, Cumley was hiding in the corner.

"Still, a good story." Jaden said, picking up the card Cyrus had drawn. Earthbound Spirit. "Well mid-level scares for a mid-level card. Okay Yumei, your turn."

Yumei drew from the large stacked pile of cards revealing the level 5 monster Curse of Dragon. "Okay, I think I have one. It's an American ghost story our older brother liked to tell us to scare us. You see, there's this man who stalks you through your nightmares. And if he ever catches up to you in your dream … you disappear in the real world too."

"Not bad Yumei." Jaden said, that perpetual smile on his face.

"Uhh, this guy doesn't happen to exist does he?" Cyrus asked.

"N-no way Sy, it was just a story." Chumley said once again in the corner.

"Guess it's my turn then." Yuki said with a slightly nervous chuckle as he drew Gaia the Fierce Knight from the pile of cards. "Ohhhh boy, here we go…"

Both Cyrus and Chumley gulped nervously, as Yuki began telling his story.

"Okay, this is another American story Yuri used to tell us. There's this supposedly abandoned summer camp, where years ago someone ended up drowning in the lake…"

"Oh, I heard this one so many times." Yumei said, getting up from her seat. "I'll be back, gotta use the bathroom."

"Anyway…" Yuki chuckled, as his twin sister left the table. "Nobody was watching this poor kid, since they were all occupied with the party that was going on. Poor kid couldn't swim, so he drowned. And his mother, who was so stricken with grief took it out on the counselors."

"What did she do?" Cyrus asked, only to yelp in fright when Yuki drew a finger across his throat.

"But here's the crazy part." Yuki continued. "Apparently her son survived … and witnessed his mother meet her end by the only surviving counselor. And he's been there ever since … making sure nobody returns to the camp. And if anyone else is foolish to try … there never heard from again."

"I-is it over?" Chumley asked from the corner.

"I think so…" Cyrus said, peeking up from where he was hiding under the table. "It's just a story."

Yuki couldn't help but laugh, as Chumley came back to the table. "Yeah Sy, it was just a story. Don't worry buddy, none of that is real … or is it!?"

"BAH!" Everyone shrieked in terror, except for Yuki, as Yumei snuck up behind the Slifer trio. The three boys jumped out of their seats in terror, while the twins laughed hysterically.

"Ohhhh we got them so good!" Yumei laughed, clutching the table for support.

"Yeah, just you wait though. I'll get you back." Jaden said, hoping to draw a high level card to get some payback on the twins for their little prank, but ended up drawing Sinister Serpent. A level one monster.

"Aw, you lucked out." Cyrus whined. "You hardly have to scare us at all with that low card."

"Well I have a story that could work … well actually it's more of a memory." Jaden began placing the low level monster card on top of the one's the group had already drawn. "Back when I was a little kid, I used to hear sounds. But I'd only hear them late at night. I thought I was dreaming, but they sounded like voices … but not one's I recognized. I would go to check it out, but every time I did, there was nothing. Nothing at all except my cards."

"And…?"

"And that's the end of the story." Jaden replied with a shrug.

"That's all?" Cyrus sounded disappointed.

"Well at least the story fit the level." Yumei said shrugging.

"But you guys wanna know something weird? Lately, when I duel I've been hearing those voices again."

Yuki and Yumei shared a look with one another. Could that mean Jaden had the ability to see duel spirits?

"I want to join in the fright fest." Professor Banner said from behind Yuki, making all five students jump.

"You just did!" The Hyoudou twins exclaimed in unison, while Chumley was once again cowering in the corner.

"We're kinda on the edge of our seats here." Jaden said with a shaky laugh.

"Or at least we were." Cyrus said, coming back out from under the table. "But since you're here, why don't you draw a card. The higher the monster's level, the scarier the story has to be."

"That sounds easy enough." Professor Banner said, drawing a card from the pile … revealing it to be Five-Headed Dragon, a level twelve monster.

"Uh-oh…" Yuki said, as he had forgotten he'd put that card in the pile.

"A level twelve monster…" Yumei gulped.

"I think I'll be going to bed now." Cyrus said with a nervous chuckle.

"What's the matter? Don't you student's want to hear about the abandoned dorm?" Professor Banner asked, as his large cat Pharoah leapt out of his arms, and into Yumei's lap.

"Abandoned dorm?" All five students asked.

"No one knows about it, but there was a special dorm at the edge of the forest. However, it was shut down after several students mysteriously went missing." Banner explained.

Cyrus was the first to ask what everyone was thinking. "What happened to them?"

"Nobody knows for sure." Banner continued. "But they say it had something to do with the shadow games."

The color drained from the twins faces, as they looked to one another with terrified looks on their faces.

"Shadow games?" Jaden asked.

"Very dark duels with dire consequences for the looser." Yumei explained.

"They happened a lot in ancient Egypt … and during the Battle City Finals, since three of the four finalists had Millenium Items." Yuki continued where his sister left off.

"How do you…?" Jaden asked.

"That's a story for another time." Yuki said, as Pharoah let out a yawn.

"Well, I believe that's my cue to head to bed." Banner said, picking up the large cat. "Good night."

As the head of the Slifer dorm walked away, Cyrus spoke up. "You know, that dorm may be the building I saw at the edge of the forest."

"Perfect, then you can lead us there tomorrow night." Jaden said, which surprised everyone.

"What do you mean tomorrow?" Chumley asked.

"What do you mean 'us'?" Yuki and Yumei asked in unison yet again.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Dr. Crowler had been listening to the whole conversation. "This is the opportunity I've been waiting for. I think it's time the shadow games made a comeback, Millenium Items and all." He smiled evilly as he walked off, thinking of the perfect person to enlist.

* * *

In a dark alley in Domino City, a duel was wrapping up. And the loser of it looked absolutely horrified. "Okay, you win! Just take what you want, and go…"

"What I want is your soul." A tall man dressed in a dark trench coat, trilby hat, and a metallic mask said, holding up a golden inverted pyramid with an eye in its center.

"Please, show some mercy! Let me go!" The loser cried out, as a bright golden light engulfed him. Once the light had vanished, the loser was passed out on the ground.

"Rest in peace … in the shadows." As the dark garbed victor made to finish off his opponent, his cellphone rang. "Speak … Duel Academy. Tomorrow night. I'll be there."

* * *

The next day, as usual Jaden and Cyrus were asleep in yet another one of Professor Banner's classes completely unaware that Dr. Crowler was watching from the open doorway.

' _This will be the last time you sleep in on a class Slifer slacker!'_ Crowler thought rather giddily. ' _Soon you'll have your real lesson … on the Shadow Games!'_

* * *

That night, Crowler was waiting on the docks next to the academy lighthouse, when an ethereal fog rolled in. The man in the black coat strode out calmly, sending a small chill up Crowler's spine.

"So you're the one people call the Shadow Duelist?"

"My opponents call me many things. Though most are hard to discern through their shrieks of horror. What's the job?" The man in black asked.

"I want you to frighten someone so intensely, that he'll leave the island and never come back." Crowler explained. "Are you up for the task?"

The man in black nodded in response. "Of course I am. I never turn down a challenge."

"Uh yes, well who do I make the check out to?" Crowler asked, feeling more freaked out by the second.

"Titan. And I will make sure this someone feels the terror of the Shadow Realm." Titan strode back into the fog, as Crowler walked off. However the man in black sensed he wasn't alone. "I know you're here."

"H-hehehehehe… very perceptive." Someone laughed from behind Titan in a low raspy voice. The newcomer strode around Titan, whoever this was, they were covered in a dark hood so Titan couldn't get a good look. "I believe you and I can work together… there's someone on this island I wish to get revenge on… Yuki Hyoudou…" The hooded man looked up at Titan, revealing a set of heterochromatic blue and green eyes.

* * *

On the far part of the island, the Slifer trio and the Hyoudou twins were walking through the forest looking for the abandoned dorm from Professor Banner's story the previous night.

"You know, we don't have to think of it as being lost." Jaden said. "Let's think of it as finding other places where it's not."

"Remind me, why we agreed to this again?" Yuki asked his twin, who merely shrugged.

"Well it could be worse." Chumley said, before laughing slightly. "Well, worse for Cyrus anyway."

"And that means what exactly?" Yumei asked.

"We could find a puddle full of dirty swamp water." Chumley replied in a taunting voice.

"Shut up Chumley!" Cyrus huffed. "If I remember correctly, you were the one who refused to take a bath last night, because you were afraid of the water!"

"Well maybe if you cleaned it, it wouldn't look so swampish." Chumley retorted.

"Maybe if you grew up, and started taking showers!" Cyrus fired back glaring at the larger boy.

"Girls, don't fight. You're both pretty." Yumei said, getting between the two Slifers, and shooting them both a look to stop arguing. Which they promptly did.

"Hey guys." Jaden said, getting everyone's attention. He aimed the flashlight he was holding at a spot on the ground in front of them, revealing a red rose on the path in front of them.

"Jaden, check out what's behind it." Cyrus said pointing ahead towards an old run down looking building.

"The old dorm?" Yuki asked looking at Jaden.

"Gotta be." The Slifer replied.

"And it's probably full of ghosts too." Chuley said as a shudder ran up his spine.

"Relax guys, there's no one here." Jaden said, before the sound of a twig snapping nearby got everyone's attention.

"What was that!?"

Yuki whirled around, shining his flashlight in the direction he believed the sound had come from. "Calm down guys, its just Alexis."

"Alexis?" Cyrus asked. "Just what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Alexis replied, her arms crossed.

"Well we heard about the abandoned dorm, and we wanted to check it out." Jaden explained, which made Yumei pinch the bridge of her nose.

Alexis couldn't believe what she was hearing "Well you shouldn't be here. Haven't you heard about the students who've gone missing?"

"Yeah, but that's just a myth." Jaden replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"No it's not, believe me I would know. I mean why else would the academy close this place down. Besides, if anyone finds you here, you'll be expelled."

"Okay…" Yuki said with a slightly skeptical tone in his voice. "Say that's true, why are you here?"

"I have my reasons, that's why!" Alexis snapped.

"Okay, take it easy Alexis." Yumei said with a slightly stern tone in her voice, while she stepped in front of Yuki.

Alexis sighed softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just…"

"It's just what?" Jaden asked.

"One of the people who disappeared from that dorm was my brother." Alexis explained.

Both Jaden and Yuki looked at the rose on the path in front of them. ' _Well that explains the rose'_

"Hey, where are Jasmine and Mindy?" Yumei asked. "Normally they're always with you."

"They… weren't in class today." Alexis said in a worried tone. "There wasn't any response when I knocked on either of their doors this morning either."

"Huh, now that you mention it, Torimaki wasn't in class today either." Yuki said. "And from what Kai told me after class today, nobody's seen Lance since I dueld him in the placement exam."

"They're probably not feeling too good." Jaden shrugged.

"Jaden." Yuki began, turning to the Slifer student in question. "If her brother really did disappear from this place, this may not be a good idea. I say we go back."

"Well I say we go in!" Jaden said, before running for the door. "See you later, don't disappear!"

"Jaden, wait up!" Cyrus whined, before he and Chuley gave chase, and the twins facepalmed.

"Morons…" Yumei groaned.

"Well, somebody's gotta make sure they don't get into too much trouble." Yuki said, before heading after the three Slifers, Yumei not too far behind her twin.

"I sure hope they know what they're doing…" Alexis said, completely unaware of the hulking shadow behind her.

* * *

"You know, this place is sweet!" Jaden said as the five students explored the old run down dorm. "A fresh coat of paint, a few boxes, maybe a throw rug, and we could totally move in here!"

"Are you kidding?" Cyrus asked incredulously. "This place is worse than the Slifer dorm! I mean look at all this stuff." The smallest of the Slifer trio pointed his flashlight to the wall on his right, revealing a stone carving of the seven Millenium Items. The sight of that carving sent a shiver down the Hyoudou twins spines.

"Yu…" Yumei said worriedly.

"Yeah… this isn't good." Yuki filled in, before motioning towards the stone carving again. Six of the seven items were missing.

"The Ring…" Yumie said in that same worried voice, while she stared at the space where the Millenium Ring should be. "It looks almost … filled in. This is bad Yu. Maybe this is why Alexis' brother disappeared."

"Think this could be him?" Jaden asked, handing Yumei an old photo of a male student in an Obelisk Blue jacket.

* * *

In another part of the dorm, Alexis woke to find her hands and legs were tied together. "Where am I?"

"Dangling on a hook." A deep sinister voice said.

"Just waiting for your friends to fall into our trap. H-heheheheheheh…" A raspy voice said with a laugh.

"Yuki…" Alexis said worriedly, as a bright golden light shone directly in front of her, causing the Obelisk girl to scream.

* * *

"What was that?" Cyrus said, while a chill went down his spine.

"That sounded like Alex-iiiiiiiis!" Yuki cried out, as the the wall that had the stone carving suddenly rotated, taking Yuki with it.

"Yu!" Yumei yelled in fright, before she tried getting the wall to rotate again. But to no avail. The wall wasn't moving, which meant that Yuki was trapped on the other side.

"Don't worry about me!" Yuki said from the other side of the wall. "You find Alexis, and get out of here! I'll try to look for another way out!"

Taking Yuki's advice, the four others ran in the direction that Alexi's scream had come from. It led them down a dark passage, and they only stopped when Jaden noticed something on the ground in front of them.

"This is one of Alexis' cards." He said, picking up Etoile Cyber.

"Well there's only one way she could have gone." Yumei said, pointing her flashlight forward. The way in front of them looked like the entrance to some sort of mining shaft. "This just gets better by the second…"

The four ran down the spooky looking tunnel for a ways, only stopping when they came into a large circular stone room with odd looking lines on the floor. Almost the second they entered, an eerie looking fog formed around their feet. On the opposite side of the room, they saw Alexis who was unconscious lying in a coffin, which was propped up on the stone.

"Alexis!"

"She can't hear you." A deep sinister voice said, before Titan stepped out from the fog. "She's locked away in the Shadow Realm."

"Oh give me a break." Yumie growled.

"Then let me prove it to you in a Shadow Game." Titan replied.

"You're on!" Jaden said, stepping forward, before Yumie threw her arm out in front of him.

"No, he's mine." She said stepping up to face Titan. "Yu and I have experience with Shadow Games. I know what I'm up against here."

* * *

On the opposite side of the wall, Yuki made his way forward in search for a way out. Though he was aware that something was off. "I've got a bad feeling about this. I don't think I'm getting out of this without a fight."

' _Partner.'_ Neo's spirit manifested beside Yuki. ' _Be careful. I feel a familiar presence close by, and it isn't the presence of an ally.'_

"Then we really aren't getting out of this without a fight." Yuki said, readying his duel disk, before noticing two cards on the ground. "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, and Queen's Knight…"

' _Cards belonging to Fujin and Torimaki.'_ Neo spoke up. ' _They were not ill as Alexis had hoped.'_

"Well if they're here, it's up to us to get them out." Yuki said, continuing on. He eventually came across a well lit circular area. And both Yuki and Neo's spirit were right in believing that Fujin and Torimaki weren't sick. Both Obelisks were tied up on posts on the far end of the room, alongside Jasmine and Mindy. And standing in front of them, was a hooded figure.

"H-heheheheheheh… Yuki Hyoudou. We meet again…" The hooded man said with that same raspy laugh.

"Do I know you?" Yuki asked, while his eyes narrowed.

"You should…" The hooded man said, lowering his hood.

"Lance!"

Lance smirked evilly shaking his head. "Only in body I am your rival Lance Osbourne." Lance said, his voice raspy, clearly not his own voice. It sounded like he was being posessed.

"Alright, whoever you are." Yuki began. "Why are you posessing Lance's body, and who are you?"

"You want to know?" The spirit made Lance smirk, before it manifested beside the posessed Obelisk. A spirit with long spiky white hair, and a very malicious expression.

"Thief King Bakura…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Yumei-LP 4000**

 **Titan-LP 4000**

"Prepare yourself fool to enter into the shadows." Titan said, activating his dual coat, and drawing his sixth card. "I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend to the field in attack mode."

A fiendish looking female monster with blue and beige claws, and armor materialized on Titan's field, screeching at Yumei. **Atk-900 Def-1500**

"Huh, an Archfiend monster?" Yumei asked, her brow knitting together.

"Yes." Titan answered. "And now that this monster is out, every monster that has 'Archfiend' in its name gains one thousand attack points."

Infernalqueen **Atk-1900**

"Hey, if you play Archfiend monsters, then you should know you have to pay five hundred points to keep them on the field at the start of your turn." Yumei said.

"Not after I activate the spell card Pandemonium." Titan replied, sliding the field spell into his dual coat. The playing field then changed to that of a field of bone, with statues of grotesque looking creatures, and a pool of lava in the middle. "And it doesn't just change the scenery, it changes the rules. Now I don't have to pay life points for my Archfiends, and if they're ever destroyed outside of a battle, I get to add another fiend monster right into my hand. And I know what you're thinking. The fate of your little friend is all but sealed. And you're right."

At Titan's words, the coffin Alexis was in sunk into the ground.

"Okay, you're gonna pay for that." Yumei growled, drawing her sixth card. "Alright, say 'hello' to my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!"

A tall more heavily muscled version of Celtic Guardian appeared on Yumei's field, fearlessly staring down Titan's Infernalqueen. **Atk-1400 Def-1200** "Then I'll set two cards face down, and activate a spell card known as the A. Forces!"

The spell card appeared behind the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, with its artwork showing the Warrior Dai Grepher, and the Marauding Captain. "See with this continuous spell card on the field, my warrior monsters get a 200 point power boost … for each warrior monster on the field."

"Each?" Titan deadpanned, as he posed his question.

"Each." Yumei answered as a red aura engulfed her monster

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-1600**

"A shame you won't get the chance to power him up any further. I summon Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode." Another fiendish looking creature with the same blue and beige color scheme as Infernalqueen appeared on Titan's field. **Atk-2000 Def-1500**

"And thanks to my Infernalqueen, his attack strength grows."

Terrorking Archfiend **Atk-3000**

"3000 Attack points!?"

"That's right, and I'm about to put them all to use! Terrorking Archfiend, attack Celtic Guardian! Locust Storm Barrage!" Titan's monster snarled, as its chest opened up to send a very angry looking swarm of locusts at Celtic Guardian.

"Hold on, you forgot about my facedowns." Yumei said with a victorious smirk on her face, while flipping one of her facedowns up. "My trap card; Mirror Gate! Now our monsters switch places, my Celtic Guardian for your Terrorking!"

Titan simply shook his head. "You think traps will work on me? Take a look around and tell me who's trapped."

"What are you talking about?" Yumei's eyes narrowed at Titan's words.

"I mean your trap will not work on my Terrorking. When he's targeted by a trap, his effect activates. An effect that will determine the fate of this battle phase, by way of chance." At Titan's words six different colored spheres appeared over the shadow duelists outstretched hand, each of the numbered one through six. "Terrorking's special ability gives me a gambling chance. A number between one and six is selected at random, and if it happens to be a two or a five, your trap is destroyed, and my Archfiend stays on my field. So let us spin the wheel, and see what happens shall we?"

A ball of fire engulfed the first sphere and began spinning around rapidly.

"It's okay, the odds are way in Yumei's favor."

"Chumley, you flunked math." Cyrus groaned.

"No I didn't. I got a 54."

When the ball of fire stopped, it had unfortunately for Yumei landed on the number two. Mirror Gate shattered, and Celtic Guardian was engulfed by the locusts.

 **Yumei-LP 2400**

Titan's eyes narrowed behind his metal mask. "What's going on here? Your monster should be destroyed. Why is it still on the field?"

"That's my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's effect." Yumei explained, drawing her next card. He's not destroyed by a monster with an attack strength of over 1900."

Titan simply scoffed, as he pulled out his golden pyramid. "Your monster may be safe, but you aren't safe from the shadows. Don't your life points feel insignificant, compared to your body."

"Yumei!"

"What? … oh." Yumei saw that her upper left forearm had vanished, but simply shrugged. "That happened."

Yumei's reaction caused Titan to scowl. "Why are you treating this Shadow Game as simply another duel?"

"Because tall, dark, and ugly, I've been in Shadow Games before. With much darker consequences for life point loss. Now say hello to this; Card of Demise. Now I draw until I have five cards in my hand." Yumie smiled, when she saw the cards she'd drawn thanks to Card of Demise.

"First I activate the spell card Double Summon, and call to the field my Valkyrian Knight, and Silent Swordsman!" The two warriors, the serious looking Silent Sowrdsman, and the regally dress Valkyrian Knight appeared when their cards were placed on Yumei's duel disk. "And don't forget about my A. Forces card. Now my monsters get a 600 point boost in their attack!"

Silent Swordsman **Atk-1600**

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-2500**

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-2000**

"Those numbers matter little." Titan growled. "You still don't have enough strength to bring down my Terrorking."

"Oh how wrong you are." Yumei replied, pointing to Infernalqueen. "I take out your queen, and no more attack boost to your Terrorking! Celtic Guardian, bring that queen down!"

The heavily muscled warrior charged Titan's Infernalqueen, decapitating the fiendish monster with a heavy swing of his blade.

 **Titan-LP 3900**

"And with your queen out of the way, your king loses his strength!"

Terrorking Archfiend **Atk-3000-2000**

"Now, my Valkyrian Knight takes down your Terrorking!" At Yumei's command, Valkyrian Knight bisected Terrorking Archfiend.

 **Titan-LP 3400**

"But wait, there's more! Silent Swordsman, attack directly! Silent Sword Slash!" The large bladed warrior slashed Titan across the chest, causing the large man to groan in pain, as both his life points dropped, and his left leg vanish completely.

 **Titan-LP 2200**

"Guess you can call me the kingslayer, because I just wiped out some royalty." Yumei smirked, setting another card facedown. "And the icing on the cake, is that I just made you suffer the effects of your own Shadow Game."

"Enjoy it while you can, because you will soon be an offering to the shadows." Titan growled, drawing another card from his dual coat. "I'm resurrecting Terrorking Archfiend, by using Desrook Archfiend's effect. I'm allowed to bring back my monster by discarding this card. So say hello to a not so old friend."

Terrorking Archfiend snarled, when it was brought back from the graveyard. **Atk-2000 Def-1500**

"Now my Terrorking attacks your Silent Swordsman with Locust Storm Barrage!" The angry swarm of locusts flew from Terrorking Archfiend's chest, but were swatted away by Valkyrian Knight. "What is this!?"

"My monsters effect." Yumei explained. "See you can't attack another monster on my field but her, provided I have another warrior on my field. So once again, my knight takes down your king!"

Once again, Valkyrian Knight, bisected Titan's Terrorking.

 **Titan-LP 1700**

"Awesome! We'll get Alexis back in no time!" Jaden cheered.

"It matters not, as I simply discard another Desrook Archfiend, to bring back my Terrorking. Rise again!" Once more, Terrorking rose back onto Titan's field, as Titan set three cards face down.

"That guy is really overstaying his welcome." Yumei sighed, drawing her nex card. "Well, I guess it's time for my Silent Swordsman to become stronger."

Silent Swordsman **Atk-2100**

"Liscious, now all of Yumei's monsters are stronger than that Archfiend." Chumley said smiling.

"Better than that Chumley, I think I figured out this scam of a Shadow Game." Yumei smirked.

"Shadow Game scam?"

"Yep." The female Ra pointed to Titan's golden pyramid. "Shadow Games need a Millenium Item to be initiated, and I know that all the Millenium Items are currently lost. Which means, if that's not real, then this whole thing isn't real." Yumei picked up a rock off the ground and threw it at Titan's golden pyramid, which promptly shattered.

"What did you do!?" Titan snarled, as his legs and Yumei's upper left arm reappeared.

"Alright!" Cyrus cheered. 'You got your body back!"

"I never lost it." Yumei managed a laugh. "This was all some form of hypnosis, mixed with smoke and mirrors. This guy's no expert in Shado Games. In fact, he's probably just some out of work carnie."

"That's not true." Titan protested, and Yumei was pleased to hear a desperate note in his voice. "I can get my job at the fair back anytime I want."

"Sure you could." Yumei replied. "And I'm sure that paper mache Millenium Puzzle goes over real well with the kids."

"No! Be quiet! It's real! _I'm_ real."

"You're a sideshow phony." Jaden scoffed.

Titan suddenly smirked. "You fools, you forget. I still have the girl."

"Alexis!"

"That's right, and thanks to your earlier carnie comment, you can find her on your own!" Titan turned and ran, only for Yumei to give chase … right into a sphere of impenetrable darkness.

"Okay, this is a new trick." The Ra mused. "How'd you manage this?"

"I didn't…" Titan said, clearly panicking. "I don't know what this is…"

A shiver ran down Yumei's spine. This wasn't one of Titan's tricks. This was something she was all too familiar with. "We're in the Shadow Realm. This is the real deal … again."

Out of nowhere, Titan was swarmed by a wave of dark blob shaped creatures which quickly engulfed him. Despite everything Titan had done, Yumei would have gone to try and save him … if she didn't have the same blobs attempting to envelop her.

"This isn't… good." Yumei felt her jaw go slack, as standing in front of her was something she hadn't seen in a long time. "Silent Swordsman…?"

The spirit of the dual monster, looked back over his shoulder, nodded at his living partner, and swung his large blade at the blobs, who quickly backed away.

"Too bad Titan doesn't have someone to look out for them like I do. Thanks partner." Yumei said with a sigh of relief. "Now let's look for a way out of-"

"Yumei Hyoudou." Titan's voice said, as he rose from the mass of black blobs. "The shadows pang for a soul, and only one shall survive."

"Then I guess this duel is back on."

 **Yumei-LP 2400**

 **Titan-LP 1700**

"Well Titan, unfortunately for you, it's still my turn. And before this phony Shadow Game became a real one, I was about to take you down."

"Not this turn." Titan replied, flipping one of his facedown cards up. "My Threatening Roar prevents you from attacking me this turn."

"Okay…" Yumei winced from the loud roar Titan's trap card made. "Well I can still do this, I play Mystical Space Typhoon. So say goodbye to you Pandemonium!"

Titan winced when Pandemonium was blown away. "It matters not, as I have the trap card Battle Scarred. Now you as well as I have to pay the 500 points in order to keep my archfiends on the field."

 **Yumei-LP 1900**

 **Titan-LP 1200**

"And then I activate the spell card Double Spell. By sending a card to the graveyard, I can use a spell card that's in your graveyard. And I chose Double Summon. Now I'll sumon both my Infernalqueen Archfiend, and tribute my Terrorking to summon my Skull Archfiend of Lightning."

Infernalqueen **Atk-900 Def-1500**

Skull Archfiend looked like a far more terrifying version of Summoned Skull. **Atk-2500 Def-1200**

"And my monsters become stronger thanks to my queens effect."

Infernalqueen **Atk-1900**

Skull Archfiend **Atk-3500**

"Well that's not good…" Yumei said worriedly.

"Not for you." Titan smirked. "Skull Archfiend, attack Valkyrian Knight."

The terrifying Archfiend snarled as it let loose a evil looking surge of lightning, which blasted away Yumei's knight.

 **Yumei-LP 900**

"This isn't good…" Yumei groaned. "I don't do something right now, I'll lose the duel…"

Yumei let out a sigh of relief as she saw her next card. "Right then, I set a card and the use this! Level Up! This spell card lets me summon a more powerful monster ignoring its summoning conditions, so say hello to Silent Swordsman Level Five!"

The tall silent warrior dissolved, to be replaced with a more muscular version of the same warrior. **Atk-2300 Def-1000**

"It doesn't end there though, I have two more spell cards to play, and you're about to experience the full force of both!" Yumei smirked as she held up her first card. "The first is this; The Claw of Hermos! With it, and the Red Eyes in my hand, I can summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon Sword!"

The familiar black sword shaped like the outline of the Red Eyes appeared on Yumei's field. **Atk-2400 Def-2000**. "And I'll equip it to my Silent Swordsman!"

Silent Swordsman **Atk-4700 Def-3000**

"But it doesn't end there. I have my second spell card, Silent Sword Slash! Now my swordsman gets an extra 1500 point boost!"

Silent Swordsman **Atk-6200**

"Now my Swordsman attacks your Skull Archfiend! Infernal Fire Slash!"

Titan smirked. "Fool! I have a trap!"

"Too bad for you, it doesn't work on my monster since Silent Sword Slash was activated." Yumei replied shaking her head, as Silent Swordsman split Skull Archfiend in half with the Red Eyes sword.

 **Titan-LP 0000**

NOOOO!" Titan screamed, as the black blobs swarmed and enveloped him once again. "Get them off me! Tell my kids… I love them…"

"Titan!" Yumei made to rush to help the man, but the spirit of Silent Swordsman flung his arm out to prevent her from doing so. The duel spirit, shook his head, and pointed to the mass of black blobs that were making to swarm her. "Okay, if you have any ideas, now's the time to do something."

Silent Swordsman raised his blade, and brought it down with a mighty swing. It sent a wave of energy slicing through the blobs, and also sliced a hole through the black sphere.

"There's our way out." Yumei rushed towards the light created in the darkness, and dove through just before the blobs could get to her.

"Yumei!"

"Are you alright?" Jaden asked helping her to her feet.

"Yeah." She sighed in relief, happy to be out of the Shadow Realm. "Good thing I had some help."

' _Woah, she's got a duel spirit too'_ Jaden thought excitedly, as her Silent Swordsman vanished.

"Hey guys, we still need to find Alexis and Yuki." Cyrus said, right as the dark sphere vanished.

"Where do you think we should start looking?" Yumei asked, thinking of heading back to where they had found the stone carving of the Millenium Items. "Hopefully Yu's okay…"


	11. Chapter 11

"Bakura… Just how are you here?" Yuki was almost stuned beyond words. "Yuri, _and_ Pharaoh Atem banished you…"

"And I ended up here." Bakura's spirit explained through Lance. "And here is where my revenge starts. Right here in this cavern I began constructing a new ring. And it was nearly complete, before the last sacrifice I needed was taken away, and this dorm closed down. But thanks to Lance, I'll have the final sacrifice I need, and Lance may have his revenge."

"Sacrifice…? A new ring…?" Yuki asked, before he put things together. "You're planning on creating a new Millenium Item. A new Millenium Ring."

"Smart boy." Bakura made Lance smirk.

"But how?" Yuki asked. "The original Millenium Items needed ninety-nine souls."

"To create all seven yes." Bakura began, smirking through Lance. "But to create just one? I would need far less. And now that you're here, you can help me."

"And why would I help you?" Yuki growled.

"You're going to chose the final sacrifice from one of your friends here." Bakura made Lance gesture to all the missing Obelisks. "Chose one of them to be the last sacrifice for my new Millenium Ring … or…"

"Or?" Yuki growled, as a coffin was lowered from the ceiling, which made Yuki gasp when he saw who was inside. "Alexis!"

"You could chose her h-heheheheheheheh." Bakura laughed in his raspy voice.

Yuki was overcome with such a strong urge to destroy Bakura then and there, but he had a better idea, albeit a dangerous one if it backfired. "None of them."

"What?" Bakura asked, making Lance tilt his head. "So you wish for me to chose?"

"I don't gamble when my friend's lives are on the line." Yuki explained, readying his duel disk. "Let my friends, including Alexis go now, and duel me. If I lose … I'll be the last sacrifice you need."

"Yuki no!" Fujin cried out.

"Deal!" Bakura made Lance snap his fingers, and all the Obelisks he'd taken hostage were released. "This is far better than I could have imagined! I get to destroy you, _and_ I get to cause Yuri Hyoudou suffering."

"Yuki, you don't have to do this." Fujin said worriedly.

"Yeah, I do." He replied, handing Fujin her Queens Knight card before he activated his duel disk, and a Bakura possessed Lance did the same.

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Bakura-LP 4000**

"I'll start things off." Bakura made Lance draw his sixth card. "I'll set two cards face down, and then I'll summon an old friend. Skull Knight in defense mode."

A skeletal warrior appeared on Bakura's field when he made Lance place the monster card on his duel disk. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

' _One of those cards is Crush Card. I need to get rid of it before he can use it against me again.'_ Yuki thought to himself, while drawing his sixth card. "Okay, I'll start things off with this. A monster _you're_ familiar with Bakura. Skilled Black Magician!"

"What!?" Bakura snarled. "That's Yuri's card!"

"Wrong. It's my deck, Yuri just used it … to claim Mahad's Millenium Item from you!" Yuki shot back, which made Bakura scowl as the dark robed spellcaster materialised on Yuki's field. **Atk-1900 Def-1700** "But I'm not done there, I'll activate two more spells. Arcane Barrier, and Mystical Space Typhoon. Now say goodbye to the face down card on the left!"

A powerful gust of wind blew apart the face down trap on Yuki's left, which caused him to let out a relieved sigh. He'd succeeded in destroying Crush Card Virus. Even better, was he'd given his monster two spell counters. "Now my monster, destroy Skull Knight!"

Skilled Black Magician conjured a sphere of dark magic, before hurling it at Skull Knight. Shattering the monster into a cloud of pixels.

"It doesn't matter. I haven't lost any life points, and thanks to Skull Knight, I get to summon another." Bakura said, summoning another Skull Knight to his field. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

"Now it's my turn, and I activate my face down card; Destiny Board!" Bakura had Lance smirk once again, as a sinister looking ouiji board appeared, and a ghostly looking letter D appeared above Lance. "And then I'll activate the spell card the Dark Door. Now you'll be unable to attack me with more than one monster. However, things don't end there. I summon Earthbound Spirit in defense mode."

The ground in front of Lance opened up, and a dried up husk of a person crawled out of it. **Atk-500 Def-2000**

"My turn then, draw!" Yuki smiled at his newest card. "Okay first, thanks to you Bakura I have everything I need to summon another monster you're familiar with. I'll sacrifice my Skilled Black Magician and the three spell counters on him, to special summon my Black Magician!"

The four conscious Obelisks gaped in awe at the white haired pale skinned spellcaster. **Atk-2500 Def-2000**

"I didn't know Yuki used spellcasters…" Torimaki said shocked.

"He made it to use in Battle City, but he gave it to his older brother instead after he got screwed over." Fujin explained.

"I just hope Yuki can beat this creep." Mindy said worried for Yuki. "And I'm not talking about Lance."

"But I'm not done there, I also summon Magical Exemplar in attack mode." A regal looking woman in a teal robe rose up from the ground. **Atk-1700 Def-1400** "Now it's time to get rid of your defensive line. Black Magician, attack Earthbound Spirit! Black Magic Attack!"

Black Magician pointed his staff at the husk monster, blasting it into pixels though Bakura took no damage, as the monster was in defense mode. "But that's all I can do for now. So I'll end my turn with a face down."

"My turn then." Bakura said, drawing his newest card. Lance's lips turned up in a smirk. "Now I think we'll start with Spirit Message E." A ghostly looking E appeared above Bakura next to the letter D.

 **D-E**

"Next, I'll sacrifice my Skull Knight and summon Belial the Marquess of Darkness!"

The all too familiar fallen angel appeared in a flurry of black feathers. **Atk-2800 Def-2400**

' _Careful partner.'_ Neo's spirit warned.

"I know." Yuki replied to the spirit.

"Now I'll summon the last Skull Knight I have, before I attack your Black Magician with Belial!" The fallen angels blade shattered Yuki's magician, which caused him to wince in pain as his life points dropped.

 **Yuki-LP 3700**

"What the…? What's going on? Why did that hurt?" Yuki asked, clutching his chest.

"Ohhh." Bakura made Lance smirk yet again. "Something I forgot to mention. This is a Shadow Game. When you lose life points, you'll become weaker, and your life force will be used to complete the new Millenium Ring."

"Hey, that's dirty!" Mindy growled.

"I can do this Mindy." Yuki replied, drawing his next card. "I only lost 300 life points, nothing big even for a Shadow Game. Now I'll play Pot of Greed, giving me two more cards." ' _Okay I can work with this.'_ "I'll place one card down, switch Magical Exemplar into defense mode, and summon Defender the Magical Knight in defense mode."

A spellcaster with heavy armor, and a large shield appeared in a kneeling position, with his shield in front of him. **Atk-1600 Def-2000**

"Then it's my turn." Bakura said, before Yuki cut him off.

"Not so fast." Yuki said, flipping his trap face up. "Say hello to my Nightmare Wheel. Now Belial can't attack, and you take 500 points of damage as long as this trap is on my field."

Thanks to Bakura, Lance frowned as Belial was attached to a wicked looking torture wheel.

 **Bakura-LP 3500**

"It doesn't matter. Especially since I add another spirit message to the field." Another ghostly looking letter appeared next to the others. The letter A.

 **D-E-A**

"Now meet a new monster. My Goblin King." A large throne with a comically small goblin appeared in front of Lance. **Atk-0 Def-0**

"Okay, why summon a monster with no attack?" Jasmine asked, looking at the others for an answer.

"Because Goblin King has a really good effect, provided you have more than two fiend monsters." Fujin explained.

"Your friend is right." Bakura turned his attention to Jasmine. "You see pretty one, Goblin King gains 1000 attack points for every fiend monster on my field aside from itself."

Goblin King **Atk-2000**

"Now my king attack Magical Exemplar!" The petite goblin pointed his finger forward, and a dark shadow moved towards Yuki's monster … only for Defender to intercept. "What is this?"

"My monsters effect." Yuki said as Defender's shield was destroyed. "He gets a spell counter when he's summoned. And I can sacrifice that spell counter to keep an attacked monster on my field this turn."

"Impressive, but it won't save you." Bakrua said. "Not from losing this duel, and not from being the final sacrifice for my new ring. I'll place one card face down, ending my turn."

"Alright then, I draw." Yuki smirked. "I play the spell; Monster Reborn! So let's bring back an old friend. Black Magician!" The pale skinned spellcaster reappeared from Yuki's graveyard.

"Now attack Goblin King! Black Magic Attack!" Yuki's magician pointed his staff at the petite goblin, which made Lance or rather Bakrua smirk.

"Well then, I'll simply remove my Goblin King, and another monster from my hand … in order to summon Darkness Neosphere!" Lance's monster vanished, to be replaced with an incredibly sinister female fiend with long red hair, a cybernetic right arm, and a demonic looking left arm. **Atk-4000 Def-4000**

"Oh no…" Yuki gasped.

"Oh yes!" Bakura exclaimed, as Neosphere destroyed Yuki's magician for a second time.

 **Yuki-LP 2200**

Yuki groaned, dropping to one knee as Fujin rushed over to him.

"You don't have to do this…"

"I have to…" Yuki groaned.

"Why? Because he's some ancient Egyptian spirit with a vendetta against your family?"

"Yes." Yuki answered simply, which made Fujin blink in surprise, as his answer had taken her aback. "Plus I'd never be able to live with myself, if I let Bakura use one of you as a sacrifice. I don't gamble with my friends lives Fujin."

Fujin sighed, giving Yuki's hand a gentle squeeze before helping him to his feet. "Once you win, no more reckless stunts like this."

"Okay 'mom'." Yuki chuckled, before looking at his hand. ' _Solemn Wishes? That's never been in my deck before … Fujin. She put this card in my hand when she squeezed it. Well, let's put it to good use.'_

"Okay Bakura, it's still my turn, and I'll play the spell card; Solemn Wishes. Now I'll get 500 life points every time I draw a card." Yuki slid Fujin's spell card into his duel disk. "But I'm not done yet. I'll use the effect of Arcane Barrier. Each time a spellcaster is sent to my graveyard, Arcane Barrier gets a spell counter on it. I can remove those spell counters, to draw a card for each counter removed."

"That means he gets three cards, since Black Magician was destroyed twice." Torimaki said, as Yuki drew from the top of his deck. Which means he basically didn't lose any life points this turn.

 **Yuki-LP 3700**

"And then I'll use Magical Exemplar's effect. Each time a spell card is activated, she gets two spell counter on her. I can remove any number of counters to special summon a monster, whose level equals the number of counters removed. So I'll remove five, and special summon Black Magician Girl!"

The female spellcaster giggled as she materialised on the field. **Atk-2000 Def-1700**

"And since there's a Black Magician in my graveyard, she gets stronger!"

Black Magician Girl **Atk-2300**

"But I'm not done there!" Yuki said, revealing one of the three cards. "I can reveal this monster to you when I draw him, to special summon him. Say hello to the true holder of the Millenium Ring! Palladium Oracle Mahad!"

"No!" Bakura cursed, as the ancient priest appeared on Yuki's field … and that was not the only thing that happened. A bright gold light appeared on Yuki's chest, making Bakura have Lance shield his eyes. And when he opened them, the new Millenium Ring was draped over Yuki's neck. "What is this!? What did you do!?

' _He did nothing thief!'_ Mahad barked, which made everyone stare at the spellcaster in shock.

"Is that duel monster card talking?" Torimaki asked, his eyes wide behind his small round glasses.

"What's going on here?" Mindy asked, just as shocked as Torimaki.

' _This was all my doing.'_ Mahad explained. ' _At the request of my old partner Yuri Hyoudou. He bade me return should the darkness that was Bakura or Zorc ever threaten the world again. I merged my spirit with the Millenium Ring completing it.'_

"Mahad you wretch!" Bakura snarled. "You'll pay, as I still have Neosphere!"

"No you don't." Yuki replied. "I play the last card I drew. Thousand Knives! And since Mahad is technically treated as Black Magician, I can use this spell card. So say goodbye to your monster!"

Neosphere was suddenly stabbed by thousands of knives, before she shattered.

"Now you'll pay." Lance drew. "Because I still have my spirit messages."

 **Bakura-LP 3000**

 **D-E-A-T**

"And you can't place anymore spell cards." Yuki pointed out. "With the Dark Door in play, you can't play the final card in your instant win strategy."

"It doesn't matter." Bakura growled. "Make your move."

"Okay, draw!"

 **Yuki-LP 4200**

"And now, I'll activate Card of Demise, allowing me to draw five cards."

 **Yuki-LP 5700**

"And it ends here." I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior." Breaker was yet another spellcaster with red armor, and a teal colored blade. **Atk-1600 Def-1000** "And when he's summoned, a spell counter gets placed on him, which raises his attack."

Breaker **Atk-1900**

"However, he won't be keeping that boost to his attack." Yuki said smirking. "I'm using his secondary ability to destroy your Destiny Board, by sacrificing his spell counter!"

Breaker swung his blade, destroying Bakura's ouiji board, and the subsequent spirit messages.

Breaker **Atk-1600**

"That doesn't make sense…" Jasmine frowned. "Why use Breaker to destroy Destiny Board, not the Dark Door?"

"Because if he did that, Bakura's spirit could have used the empty space to instantly win with the final spirit message." Fujin explained frowning slightly. "But how is Yuki gonna deal with this situation.

"And now Mahad attack Belial!"

Mahad **Atk-5000**

"What is this!?" Bakura exclaimed.

"Mahad's effect. His attack strength doubles when he battles against a dark monster!" Yuki explained, as Mahad blasted away Belial and Yuki's Nightmare Wheel.

 **Bakura-LP 0000**

A bright golden eye appeared on Yuki's forehead. "Bakura, your days of being a threat on this world are over. There's a special place in hell for you, and I'm sending you there right now!" The new Millenium Ring glowed brightly, freeing Lance from Bakura's possession. When the light faded, Lance was lying on the ground in a crumpled heap. Unconscious, but very much alive and himself.

"Also, so much for using that combo…" Yuki said to himself, as he glanced at the Berserker Soul spell card in his hand, before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Yuki." Yuki turned around, only to be swept up into one of Fujin's rib cracking hugs.

"O-oh come on Fujin…" Yuki wheezed. "C-could you please put me down…? We still ned to find a way out of here…"

"Yu!" Yumei called, running into the chamber. The Slifer trio not too far behind her. "Fujin? Jasmine, Mindy, Torimaki … what are you guys doing here?"

"Bakura." Yuki replied, proceeding to explain everything that had happened during the duel. Including Mahad's return, and the new Millenium Item.

"We need to tell Yuri about this." Yumei said, in which her twin nodded in agreement. "But let's get out of here first." Yuki crossed over to where Alexis was still lying in the coffin Titan had placed her in, picking her up in the bridal position.

* * *

"Well it feels good to be out of there!" Jaden groaned, his perpetual smile on his face once everyone was out of the Abandoned Dorm.

"Tell me about it." Yuki agreed, setting Alexis down against a nearby tree. "Hey Lex. Wakey Wakey~"

Alexis gave a small groan, slowly opening her eyes. "Where am I…?"

"Good morning sleepyhead." Yuki smiled, placing her Etoile Cyber in her hand. "You dropped this."

"And we also found this." Jaden said, handing Alexis the photo they had found.

"This is … this is my brother." Alexis gasped.

"Alexis, you don't have to go at this alone." Yuki said softly. "We're here to help you. Plus we can't have you getting locked in anymore tombs."

"You were … really worried about me weren't you?

"We all were." Jasmine said, as she and Mindy nearly dog piled Alexis in a group hug as the sun came up.

"Uh-oh. We better split before anyone sees us!" Jaden said, before he and Chumley took off for the Slifer Dorms, and Yumei made for the Ra dorm.

"I'll get Lance back to Obelisk." Torimaki said, hoisting the unconscious boy onto his back, and making for the blue dorms.

"Come on you two." Fujin said, pulling Jasmine and Mindy off of Alexis. "Let's go back."

"Think we should get back to our dorms too." Yuki said, helping Alexis to her feet. "It's been a pretty long night."

"Yeah, I think we should take a personal day." Alexis said, making the last two Obelisks laugh, as they walked back to their dorm. "Hey Yuki…"

"Hm? Yuki turned his attention to Alexis, only to have his cheeks redden when he felt Alexis's lips press against his cheek.

"Thank you."

* * *

After everyone had left, Crowler was wandering around inside the Abandoned Dorm. "Little Jaden must be cowering in fear by now. Oh Titan, where are you my friend? I want to hear every little detail about… Hm…? What's this…?"

Crowler knelt down, picking up a dropped card. "This is Titan's Pandemonium card. Titan would never leave this behind, unless Jaden and his little friends have outsmarted me yet again! But this isn't over! Not by a long shot!"


	12. Chapter 12

Several days after the shadow duels at the Abandoned Dorm, in the very early morning a fog had blanketed the island. While visibility was reduced, one could still manage to see a few feet in front of them. It was still dark out, which made the light shining from the academy's lighthouse cut through the eerie looking fog. And for the briefest of moments, if one looked very carefully, they could see someone standing next to the lighthouse. From the way this someone dressed, he was clearly an Obelisk student. His eyes were a dark blue in color, though a lighter shade than his hair which was parted in the middle, and fell just to his shoulders.

"Zane?" Alexis asked, as the female Obelisk approached the boy standing by the lighthouse. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing." Zane replied in a neutral tone. "I just felt like being alone was all."

Alexis sighed, shaking her head. "You know, I figured since your brother enrolled here, you'd be feeling less lonely."

"Well maybe that's because my brother doesn't belong here."

* * *

Later in the morning, after the fog had dissipated, and the sun had risen over the academy, the Hyoudou twins were on a walk discussing what they should tell Yuri about what happened several days ago. They weren't really paying attention to where they were walking, ending up close to the Slifer dorm when an army-style truck drove past, heading straight for the Slifer dorm.

"What the…?" Yumei asked while several surly looking men dressed in dark grey military fatigues jumped out of the back of the truck, which ended up getting the attention of a rather sleepy Professor Banner.

"Aren't you kids getting a little old to be playing war?" He asked, rubbing one eye, while holding his large cat with the other arm. "Come on you guys, how about a nice quiet game of charades instead." It was as the soldiers ascended the steps, that Banner got a good look. "Oh no! That's the Disciplinary Action Squad! They only show up when a student is in serious trouble … and they're heading straight towards Jaden's room."

* * *

Inside said dorm, Jaden, Cyrus, and Chumley were fast asleep … and snoring rather loudly. It was a rather peaceful scene, or it would have been if it wasn't for the sound of someone pounding on the door that came moments later.

"Open up!" A female voice ordered from the other side of the door. "Open this door right now, or we'll bust it down!"

The three boys stirred, but the only one who sat up was Jaden. The brown haired Slifer let out a yawn, as he sat on the edge of his bed. "Oh yeah? You and what army?"

"The disciplinary Action Squad army that's who!" The woman on the other side of the door barked in response.

"Disciplinary Action Squad huh?" Jaden let out another yawn, as he opened the door. The woman who was forcibly knocking on the door looked to be in her late thirties, or early forties, grey or silver hair, a beret, and a cape over the same grey military uniform. She was flanked on either side by two other surly men that had exited the truck in front of the Slifer dorm.

"You must be Jaden." The woman said sternly, before shifting her attention to the small blue haired boy that had climbed down from the middle bunk. "And that must be Cyrus. You're both under arrest."

"Under arrest?" Jaden asked, looking worried. "What did we do?"

"That will be made clear in the interrogation." The woman replied. "Now come with us. Now."

* * *

Not known to the soldiers of the academy, both Yuki and Yuki had heard everything. They gave one another a worried look.

"Think this is about what happened at the Abandoned Dorm?" Yumei asked in a low tone.

"It's gotta be." Yuki answered, as the soldiers led Jaden and Cyrus to their truck. But then he thought of something, that didn't add up. "We were there too, so why haven't they come for us?"

"I don't know…" Yumei answered. "But I think we need to talk to Yuri real soon."

* * *

"What!? Suspended!?" Both Jaden and Cyrus asked at the same time.

The two boys were standing in a circular room inside the main building of the academy. They were facing several large screens. One showed the arresting officer of the Disciplinary Action Squad, the second showed Dr. Crowler, and the third Chancellor Sheppard.

"That's what I suggest." The arresting officer said. "You trespassed into the Abandoned Dorm. We received an anonymous letter from one of our faculty members. You must be punished so an example can be set for all the students."

"But what sort of example are we setting?" Crowler asked, his fingers laced together under his pointed chin. "That we're a bunch of hard hearted tyrants. I say we arrange something sporting."

"Sporting?" Jaden asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well Jaden, off the top of my head how about … you partner up with Cyrus in a tag duel. Win and you're cleared. Lose and you're expelled."

"A tag duel." Jaden smiled at the prospect. "That sounds sweet!"

"Jaden…" Cyrus said in a very worried tone. "He said expelled…"

"Chancellor, I believe they've accepted the conditions."

"Alright, I'll arrange some opponents." Sheppard said in a calm, but resigned tone.

"Oh Chancellor, don't you fret about that. I'll take care of all the particulars for the event."

* * *

Later in the day, Chumley went to see Chancellor Sheppard, wanting to talk to the head of the academy about the tag duel.

"You wanted to see me Chumley?" The bald man asked in a friendly voice.

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that …" The large Slifer boy took a deep breath. "Th-that I was at the Abandoned Dorm too, so I should be in the tag duel with Jaden."

"No it should be me." A voice spoke from behind Chumley. The speaker turned out to be Alexis, who apparently had the same thought as Chumley. "They were in that dorm because of me."

"Duh. That's bogus Alexis." Chumley replied. "I led the into the dorm, because I was … uh, looking for the abandoned cafeteria."

"Fat chance Chumley. Please Chancellor, just let me be Jaden's partner."

"Alexis, if anyone should partner up with Jaden, it's one of us." Both Alexis and Chumley turned around to see that Yuki and Yumie had entered the headmaster's office. "It's not your fault they went into that dorm. We couldn't stop them in time from running in there. But Yumei and I were in there just the same as them. And there's something else on top of that…"

Yuki took off the new Millenium Ring from around his neck and set it on Chancellor Sheppard's desk. He then proceeded to tell the head of the academy everything. Yumei dueling Titan, what they knew about the Millenium Items, that Bakura's spirit had wound up on the island, and the subsequent creation of the ring currently lying on Sheppard's desk. Including Yuki dueling the Bakura possessed Lance in the Abandoned Dorm.

Chancellor Sheppard couldn't help but smile. These were some of the bravest students he had met in quite a long time. And it was admirable they were willing to put themselves on the line the way they were. However he had to keep some authority. "I realize the stakes are high, but the duel is set. I'm sure Jaden and Cyrus will do fine."

"Chancellor…" Yumei said, shocked at what the head of the academy had said. "Did… did you not hear what we just-"

"I heard Yumei." Sheppard cut across her, the smile still on his face. "And while I do believe what you've said, I can't switch Cyrus with any of you. Have some confidence in your friend, I'm sure he'll perform splendidly."

The four students shared a look. They knew that Chancellor Sheppard was right, and it was no use in trying to argue the point any further. The four made to leave, before Sheppard called Yuki back.

"Don't forget this." Sheppard said, smiling as he slid the new Millenium Ring across his desk back to a shocked looking Yuki.

"A-are you sure Sir? I-i mean…" Yuki began.

"Well from what you told me, the spirit of this Mahad gave the ring to you. So it should stay with you." Sheppard smiled.

* * *

Cyrus was waiting back at the Slifer dorm for Chumley to return, while Jaden was going through his deck. It wasn't long before their door opened, and Chumely stepped in … only for Cyrus to latch onto him.

"Oh, did he say yes? Please tell me he said yes." Cyrus pleaded almost comically. "If I'm Jaden's partner, we'll get expelled for sure."

"I tired Cyrus. I even lied, and said I was the one who led you into the dorm." Chumely said defeatedly, which caused Jaden to laugh.

"Well, you did lead us into the cafeteria."

"Hey, why aren't you worried Jaden?" Cyrus asked worriedly. "Aren't you afraid I'll get you kicked out?"

"Nah, I wouldn't want any other partner." Jaden replied smiling.

"What!? Are you insane!?"

"Look Cy, we're gonna go in there, duel our best, and we're gonna win. You know why?"

"Hm?"

"Cause you and I are gonna work our kinks out right now. Grab your deck buddy, we're gonna duel right now!"

* * *

"This situation really bothers me…" Yuki groaned.

"Preaching to the choir there." Yumei agreed. The two were sitting in the outdoor section of the Obelisk dorm cafe. "How can Sheppard be so relaxed not only about what we told him about Bakura, but the ring … which he let you keep."

Yuki was semi-consciously running a finger along the pyramid in the center of the ring. "Either he has some serious confidence in me … or he's crazy."

"I say he's crazy." Yuki chuckled at his twin's remark. "Then again this whole situation is crazy. So many of us were there, but only Jaden and Cyrus age getting punished?"

"Yeah, I think someone's got it out for them." Yuki sighed, as Fujin sat down at the table the twins were sitting at.

"I take it Sheppard didn't go for it?" She asked, taking note of the looks on their faces.

"That would be a 'no'." Yumei replied, before noticing that Fujin hadn't come alone. Another Obelisk was with her. She was a little shorter than Fujin, her long curly brown hair fell down the left side of her face slightly hiding one of her amber colored eyes. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Sora." Fujin smiled as Sora gave a small by shy wave by wiggling her fingers. "I figured since everything that's happened, you might want to take your mind off of things."

"And just how do you propose that?" Yumei asked, tilting her head.

"One of you duels her." Fujin said, unable to keep herself from laughing.

The twins looked to Sora, then back to one another. "Draw for it?"

"Strongest card wins." Yuki said, bringing out one of his decks.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" The twins drew from the top of their decks, comparing monsters. Yumei's Geirfried, to Yuki's Rare Metal Dragon.

"Guess I'm your opponent today Sora."

* * *

Just outside of the Obelisk dorm, both Sora and Yuki had their duel disks on.

"Ready Sora?" Yuki asked.

"Whenever you are." Sora replied in a soft smooth voice.

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Sora-LP 4000**

"It's been a crazy few days, so I'd like to start first." Yuki said, drawing his sixth card. "I'll start with an old friend. Kumori Dragon in attack mode." Yuki's black and red scaled dragon snarled when it appeared on his field. **Atk-1500 Def-1000** "Then I'll place a card facedown, before calling it a turn."

"Alright then, I guess it's my turn." Sora smiled as she drew her sixth card. "And I'll start with Harpie Lady One." A woman with long red hair, wings where her arms should be, and razor sharp talons for feet rose from the ground when Sora summoned her. **Atk-1300 Def-1200**

"Oh, you use harpies?" Yuki asked, somewhat reminded of another duelist who used the avian monsters.

"Mm-hmm. I'm a big fan of Mai Valentine, which is why I use them." Sora answered. She paused for a moment, before continuing. "Well I guess it's Mai Wheeler now."

"Oh yeah, I heard her and Joey got married a few years ago." Yuki replied smiling, before Sora's monster grew stronger.

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1600**

"Uhh, what just happened?" Yuki asked confused.

"It's my monsters effect." Sora explained. "She gives all Wind monsters an extra 300 point boost to their attack strength. Including herself."

"Uh oh…"

"Go Harpie Lady, slay that dragon!" Sora's monster proceeded to crush Yuki's dragon under its tallon, shattering it in a cloud of pixels.

 **Yuki-LP 3900**

"And I'll set a card face down, and activate the spell card; Hysteric Sign. With this, I get a certain spell card added to my hand, and whenever this card is destroyed, I'm allowed to add three Harpie monster with different names to my hand as well."

"Well, then I guess it's my turn." Yuki said, drawing from the top of his deck.

"Not quite yet." Sora said, revealing her face down. "I have a trap card. Hysteric Party. Allow me to explain how it works. By discarding one card, I can summon as many Harpie Lady monsters as I can from my graveyard." Sora took one card from her hand, placing it into the graveyard slot of her duel disk.

"And let me guess." Yuki began. "You just put a Harpie Lady card into your graveyard."

Sora smiled. "And we have a winner. Now meet my newest monster. Harpie Lady Two." Harpie Lady #2 looked similar to her sister monster, but her hair was orange, but her hair was bright orange, parted towards the right, and fell in front of her left eye. **Atk-1300 Def-1400** "Oh and let's not forget about the effect of my first Harpie Lady's effect."

Harpy Lady #2 **Atk-1600**

"Okay, well if you're done, it's still my turn." Yuki began, as his turn continued. "I'll start by playing a card face down, then play Dragon Shrine."

"You used that spell card to defeat Lance." Sora said, having a sneaking suspicion that Yuki had just placed his Blue Eyes into the graveyard.

"That's right, and now I'll summon my Luster Dragon in attack mode!" A bipedal blue scaled dragon appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-1900 Def-1600**

"Now Luster Dragon, attack Harpie Lady Two!" Luster Dragon cocked its fist back, and shattered Harpie Lady #2 with a strong punch.

 **Sora-LP 3700**

"Next, I'll set a card face down, and end my turn." Yuki's face down card appeared just behind his Luster Dragon.

"Not a bad move, but let's see how you stack up to this." Sora seemed rather unphased by the destruction of her monster, as she drew her next card. "Well first I'll play the field spell; Harpie's Hunting Ground."

The battlefield soon changed into a wide valley, with what was unmistakably Harpie monsters circling overhead.

"My field spell works like this. Firstly it increases all my Harpie monsters attack by 200, and whenever I summon a Harpie monster, I'm allowed to destroy one of my opponents face down cards."

"Uh oh…"

"Oh, you've caught on?" Sora asked, a teasing smile on her face. "Well then, allow me to introduce a new monster then. Meet Harpie Lady Three!"

The third of the Harpie Lady trio had sharp spiky blue hair. **Atk-1300 Def-1400**

"Okay, well before you get the chance to blast my face down, I'll activate it!" Yuki said, revealing his trap card. "Trap Hole! Now say goodby to your Harpie!"

A large hole opened up under Harpie Lady # 3 and sucked Sora's monster into it.

"Impressive." Sora smiled. "But kind of a wasted effort, thanks to my Hysteric Party card. I can just bring my Harpies back." Both Harpie Lady #2 and 3 reappeared on Sora's field. "And they both get stronger thanks to my first Harpie Lady.

Harpie Lady's 2 and 3 **Atk-1600**

"And thanks to Harpie's Hunting Ground all three get another attack boost."

Harpie Lady's 1-3 **Atk-1800**

"But since I don't have any monster that can stand up to your monster just yet, I'll activate the continuous spell card; Alluring Mirror Split. Now I can summon another Harpie whenever one of the gets destroyed, providing the monster I summon is a different Harpie."

"Okay, she's really good." Yumei said to Fujin. "But there's something…"

"Off?" Fujin asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Yumei shot Fujin a curious look.

"Well Sora is really only … I guess for lack of a better term: normal whenever she's dueling." The Obelisk explained. "When she's not, she's actually shy and withdrawn."

' _Okay, I really need to do something about Sora's back row.'_ Yuki thought as he drew his next card. "Okay, I'll start by playing Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards."

' _Sweet! I can work with this!'_ A smile formed on Yuki's face as he saw whet he'd drawn. "First, I'll summon an old friend. Drago Warrior!" The familiar bipedal armored dragon roared as it appeared on the field. **Atk-1600 Def-1400**

"Impressive." Sora said with the smile still on her face. "But your dragon doesn't have the attack strength to beat my Harpies."

"No, but my Luster Dragon does." Yuki replied, which caused Sora's eyes to widen. "Attack Harpie Lady Three!"

Luster Dragon shattered Harpie Lady #3 with its fist, but the destruction of her monster only made Sora smirk.

 **Sora-LP 3600**

"Well now a number of things happen." She said, her sirk growing. "Firstly, since you destroyed that specific Harpie Lady, Luster Dragon is unable for attack for two turns. Secondly, I can summon a new Harpie from my deck. Now meet my Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Sora's new monster looked similar to boh the original printed Harpie Lady, and Harpie Lady #1, the only difference was the metallic armor. **Atk-1800 Def-1400**

"Thirdly, thanks to my first Harpie and my field spell, my new monster gets her attack boost."

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-2300**

"That's not good for Yuki at all." Fujin had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, If Sora attacks, this duel is over." Yumie said worriedly.

"And lastly, thanks to my Hysteric Party trap card. Harpie Lady Three comes back to my field." Sora looked very confident in that moment, and it wasn't without reason. She had four monsters on her field, with decent attack strength, which would be more than enough to take Yuki down.

Harpie Lady #3 **Atk-1800**

"Then I'll end my turn with another face down card." Another face down card appeared on Yuki's field as his turn ended.

"Well then, I think it's time to bring this duel to its end." Sora said, drawing her next card.

"That's going to have to wait Sora. I have another trap card waiting! Threatening Roar!"

Sora winced at the loud roar that eminated from Yuki's trap card. "Alright, then if I'm unable to attack, I'll do this anyway. I play the spell card Elegant Kaleidescope, and by sacrificing my Cyber Harpie Lady, I can summon my Cyber Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Sora's new monster was a combination of what looked like Harpie Lady's 1-3, all with the same metallic looking armor. **Atk-2450 Def-2100**

Cyber Harpie Lady Sisters **Atk-2950**

"But I'm not done there. I'll sacrifice two of my Harpies, and summon Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Sora's newest monster, was a maroon skinned dragon, that looked more like a bipedal wyvern. **Atk-2000 Def-2500**

"And his effect boosts his strength by 300 for each harpie on my field. And thanks to my trap, my other two Harpies are coming back."

Harpie's Pet Dragon **Atk-3600**

"This is not good." Yumie had a worried tone in her voice. "Yu only bought himself one turn, and Sora took the opportunity to build a powerful offensive line."

"There's a reason she's an Obelisk." Fujin replied smiling. "A little thing I need to tell you, is this is Sora's ace strategy."

"So she brought her A game against Yu."

"So Yuki'll need to bring his A game against Sora right now, or he'll lose on Sora's next turn."

"Alright then, my draw." ' _I need to turn this around right now, or it's over for… oh sweet!'_

"Get something good?" Sora asked, taking note of the expression on Yuki's face.

"Yeah. I got Card of Demise, allowing me to draw until I have five new cards in my hand." Yuki replied, drawing his five new cards. "Alright, now it's time to start leveling the playing field. And the first step to doing that, is discarding my Thunder Dragon."

"Which allows you to add two more to your hand right?" Sora asked.

"That's right, and here they are." Yuki replied, showing the Obelisk the two new dragons. "Next I'll play Fusion Gate, so there's no need for my Polymarization spell card."

"But that will…" Sora began, as her field spell was replaced, and her Harpie monsters strength dropped.

Harpie Lady 1-3 **Atk-1600**

Cyber Harpie Lady Sisters **Atk-2750**

"A good start." Fujin began. "But he'll still have to contend with that dragon."

Yumie simply shook her head. "If I know Yu, he's got this duel already squared away."

"Next I'll use Fusion Gate's effect and fusion summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" At Yuki's words, the skies darkened, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of Yuki, revealing the orange scaled dragon he'd summoned. **Atk-2800 Def-2100**

* * *

Above Duel Academy, a helicopter bearing the Industrial Illusions logo was just beginning its descent, when one of the passengers caught sight of the lightning bolt.

"Hey, someone's dueling over there." The passenger said, trying to see just who it was. And their eyes went wide, having recognised one of the combatants. "Yuki! Pilot, set me down somewhere close to that duel!"

* * *

"But I'm not done using Fusion Gate." Yuki smirked. "I'll fuse Drago Warrior and Drago Defender, and bring out Drago Knight!"

"Looks like Yu just brought _his_ A game." Yumie smirked at seeing the bright gold bipedal dragon.

Drago Knight **Atk-2900 Def-2800**

"And for every dragon in either players graveyard, my monster gets a 300 point boost!"

Drago Knight **Atk-4700**

"But it doesn't end there. I play Monster Reborn bringing back the monster I discarded with Dragon Shrine."

"Your Blue Eyes right?" Sora asked, as Yuki activated his spell card.

"Nope, I didn't have Blue Eyes in my hand when I played Dragon Shrine. I had this: Tyrant Dragon!" A fierce looking High Dragon rose from Yuki's graveyard, as the Obelisk boy tributed his Luster Dragon per Tyrant Dragon's effect of being summoned from the graveyard. **Atk-2900 Def-2100**

"Now I'll activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon. It works like this, I bring a dragon monster of level five or higher back to my hand, and then I can destroy all spell and trap cards on the field." Sora's eyes went wide when Yuki activated his spell card, and brought Tyrant Dragon back to his hand.

"But your Fusion Gate…" She said shocked.

"I can do without it, since I've won this duel." Yuki replied, as a the spirit of Tyrant Dragon blasted away all of Sora's back row with a large gust of wind created when it flapped its wings.

"You've won?" Sora asked, taking a look at her duel disk. "But I still have plenty of life points…"

"And I still have cards to play." Yuki said, taking a card from his hand. "Like my Lord of D!"

A dark looking man with dark clothing and a dragon bone helmet appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-1200 Def-800** "And I'm giving him the spell card; Flute of Summoning Dragons."

Lord of D took the draconic looking flute that had appeared in front of him, and blew a long deep note from it. "Now I can special summon two dragon monsters to my field. Like my Tyrant Dragon, and the dragon you thought I had sent to the graveyard with Dragon Shrine. Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Both powerful dragons roared as they materialised on Yuki's field.

Tyrant Dragon **Atk-2900 Def-2100**

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000 Def-2500**

"Now go Tyrant Dragon, attack Harpie Lady One!" Tyrant Dragon roared, and shot a stream of fire at the first Harpy Lady, incinerating her.

 **Sora-LP 2300**

Harpie Lady 2-3 **Atk 1300**

Cyber Harpie Lady Sisters **Atk 2450**

Harpies Pet Dragon **Atk-2900**

"Now thanks to Tyrant Dragon's effect, he can attack once again! Attack the Cyber Harpies!" Another stream of fire incinerated the three Harpie sisters.

 **Sora-LP 1950**

Harpies Pet Dragon **Atk-2600**

"Blue Eyes, Burst Stream of Destruction! Destroy Harpies Pet Dragon!" Yuki's powerful dragon roared, before blasting the lesser dragon away.

 **Fujin-LP 1650**

Drago Knight **Atk-5000**

"And my Drago Knight finishes this! Say goodbye to Harpie Lady Two!" Drago Knight leapt into the air, splitting the monster in half.

 **Sora-LP 0000**

"And there's a reason _Yuki's_ an Obelisk." Yumie smiled, as both Yuki and Sora's duel disks deactivated. She was about to walk up to congratulate her twin, when the sound of someone applauding slowly reached her ears.

"Not bad Yuki." The newcomer said, surprising both twins. The Newcomer had a dark blue jacket over his _Burn It Down_ shirt, which was tucked into his jeans. Minus the teal highlights in his hair that his siblings had, Yuri Hyoudou looked exactly like the twins. "But when did you get a Blue Eyes?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all, I really do hope you're enjoying my story so far.**

 **I'm adding this little authors note mainly because I'm curious if I should add a certain archetype and keep a character around.**

 **Anyone who's read the previous chapter knows that I introduced the eldest of the Hyoudou siblings: Yuri. And I've been thinking of adding synchro monsters into the mix, as they were pretty much the only thing I enjoyed about the 5D's series. If you would like to see Yuri stay around, or just see him from time to time, and see a few synchro monster in the future let me know. Until then, please read, review, and above all enjoy.**

"Sounds like you two have been busy." Yuri began. The three siblings were taking a walk around the island, while Yuki and Yumei explained everything that happened at the Abandoned Dorm. "So Bakura really came back. Guess I was right in making Mahad promise to come back."

"That's only part of the problem." Yuki said, explaining what happened in the aftermath of the two Shadow Games. How their friends Jaden and Cyrus were the only ones whos admittance at Duel Academy was on the line, and that the head of the school wasn't budging on switching out Cyrus for either of the twins, or anyone else who was at there that night. And that Sheppard had allowed Yuki to keep the new Millenium Ring.

"Okay, well for that last one. I think the headmaster thinks you can handle using the ring." Yuri said, before letting out a small huff of laughter. "Either that, or he's crazy."

"I say he's crazy." Both twins said in stereo, which made their elder brother laugh.

"Okay, well as for the other thing, someone's seriously got it out for your two friends." Yuri sighed, once he had stopped laughing. "I'll try and look into that."

"Which raises another question." Yumei began. "What are you doing here? We thought you were in a tournament in America."

"Which is why I'm here." Yuri replied. "The tournament is over … I won."

"You what!?"

"I won." Yuri laughed, pulling a folded up poster out of his jacket pocket. Once folded out, the poster showed a picture of Yuri shaking hands with Maximillion Pegasus, a large first place trophy behind the two, filled to the brim with new and rare cards. "So I thought I'd stop by and surprise you two."

' _Well done old friend.'_ Mahad's spirit said, manifesting from the ring around Yuki's neck.

"Hey guys…" Yumei said, pointing towards where she saw Chumley standing on the edge of a cliff by the Slifer dorm. The siblings walk had taken them from the Obelisk dorm to the Slifer dorm without anyone really paying attention to where they were walking.

"Hey Chumley." Yuki said in a slightly nervous tone as he approached the heavy set Slifer. "What are you doing?"

"Jaden and Cyrus are about to duel." Chumley replied, pointing down to where Jaden and Cyrus were standing with their duel disks ready.

"Smart idea." Yumei said, walking up beside her twin. "Get to know one another's deck before the tag duel."

"Hey guys!" Chumley called down to his two friends. "Just remember this is a practice duel for your upcoming tag match, so go easy on each other!"

"I don't think Jaden knows how to go easy." Everyone turned around, to see that Alexis had joined their little group.

"Whadda ya mean?" Chumley asked.

"I mean I know Dr. Crowler isn't going to get a bunch of pushovers." Alexis replied. "Both Jaden and Cyrus need to be at their best, because if they're not, they'll be expelled."

Yuki felt his cheeks flush, obviously remembering the kiss Alexis had given him several days ago.

"Alright Cy, get your game on buddy! And let's have some fun!" Jaden said, activating his duel disk.

"Yeah, fun. Might as well have some fun before we get kicked out of here." Cyrus mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh, ah, nothing."

"Then let's duel!"

"Yeah… yeah, let's duel." Cyrus sighed, activating his duel disk.

 **Jaden-LP 4000**

 **Cyrus-LP 4000**

Jaden drew his sixth card. "Here I come Cy, I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" Jaden smiled, as his green suited winged warrior appeared on his field. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

"Huh, so Jaden uses Elemental Heros." Yuri mused, as Jaden placed another card in his duel disk.

"And I'll throw down a face down, and call it a turn." Jaden said, while inserting his face down card into his duel disk. "Your move Cy."

"Let's see…" Cyrus mused, as he drew his sixth card. ' _Oh, my Patroid has enough power to take Avian down!'_

"What'cha smiling for?" Jaden asked, still smiling. "Get something good?"

"Uh, yeah I think so. I summon Patroid in attack mode!" Cyrus' monster resembled an old timey police car with an odd cartoonish theme. It had a police cap on its roof, big eyes, and its wheels stuck out like arms and legs. **Atk-1200 Def-1200**

"Now attack! Siren Smasher!"

"Not so fast Cy, I have a trap! Negate Attack!" Jaden's face down card flipped up, and canceled out Cyrus' attack.

"Aw man, I should have known that was a trap." Cyrus groaned.

"Cyrus walked right into that one." Yumei sighed.

"This isn't good." Alexis said. "There's no way they'll last in the tag duel if they play like this."

"He just needs to think his moves through is all." Yuri said, catching Alexis' attention.

"And just who are you?" The Obelisk female asked curiously.

"Oh that's right, we haven't officially met. I'm Yuki and Yumei's older brother. I'm Yuri Hyoudou." Yuri held his hand out.

"O-oh… I-i'm Alexis Rhodes." Alexis sounded slightly flustered, as she shook Yuri's hand.

Down below, Cyrus was sitting on the ground, drawing small designs in the dirt. "Dirt is just the greatest thing."

"Come on Cy, you just made one mistake." Jaden said, trying to get his friends attention.

"Yeah, coming to this school…" Cyrus replied glumly.

"That's not true. You just forgot to use Patroid's special ability. He let's you take a peek at your opponents face down cards once per turn." Jaden said.

"Yeah, I know I'm no good! I don't belong here." Cyrus replied in the same glum tone.

"Woah, hold on!" Jaden sounded worried for his friend. "I didn't mean that!"

"I know Jaden." Cyrus said after taking a deep breath. "It's just that…"

"You're right, I shouldn't butt in. We're opponents right now, and from now on we should act like it." Jaden said, drawing his next card. "Alright, I summon elemental Hero Sparkman!"

Sparkman, a old and blue armored hero appeared on Jaden's field next to Avian. **Atk-1600 Def-1400**

"Now Sparkman, attack Patroid! Static Shockwave!" Sparkman's attack blasted the cartoonish police car away.

 **Cyrus-LP 3600**

"Now Avian, attack directly!" Avian's attack ended up knocking Cyrus to the ground.

 **Cyrus-LP 2600**

"Can I crack up now?" Cyrus asked, laughing slightly. "I just got nailed on both our turns. I can't win."

"Of course you can Cyrus!" Alexis called down. "Believe in yourself!"

"Come on Cy, Even if you lose, at least try!" Yuki said.

"They're right Cyrus!" Chuley called down. "I mean duh, that's the first thing they teach you in freshman dueling class. I know, I had to take it twice."

"Wait what?" Yumei asked, turning to face the heavy set Slifer. "That's the easiest course at the school. How did you fail?"

Cyrus took a moment to let those words sink in. "They're right! Not only am I dueling for myself, I'm dueling for Jaden too. And the best thing I can do now, is to take him down!" Cyrus had a determined look on his face, pulling himself back up.

"There we go." Yuri smiled. "Off the ground, and back on his feet."

"Alright, here we go!" Cyrus, said drawing his newest card. ' _Okay, I don't have a monster that can stand up to Jaden, so I'll have of think of another strategy.'_ Cyrus thought, looking over his hand. "Okay, I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards." Cyrus pulled two more cards off the top of his deck, both were spell cards. Pollymarization, and the other made him let out an audible gasp. ' _Power Bond!'_

' _Huh, going by the look on his face, Cy must have drawn a sweet card!'_ Jaden thought excitedly.

' _Powerbond is like Pollmarization only better. If I summon a machine-type monster with it, it's attack strength will be doubled. Oh well, I'm not good enough to use it … not according to my brother anyway…'_

* * *

Cyrus thought back to a time before he'd entered Duel Academy. When he and Zane were younger.

' _I'll never forget that day. It was back in grade school, and I was dueling a really mean bully. It was my chance to stand up to him, and prove that I couldn't be pushed around.'_

 **Bully-LP 1900**

 **Cyrus-LP 1600**

A younger looking Cyrus was dueling a much larger boy. He had Gearfried the Iron Knight, and a face down card on his field, and Cyrus had his Steamroid and Gyroid on his field.

"Alright, you're going down!" Cyrus said, drawing his next card which happened to be Power Bond. ' _Alright, Power Bond! The card Zane gave me! I'll win for sure now!'_

"Quit stalling you little pip-squeak!" The bully growled. "You're gonna lose anyway, so let's get this over with!"

"That's what you think, this duel is mine!" Cyrus replied.

"Yeah right, the only thing that's gonna be yours is a good butt-kicking!"

"I'm not scared of all your threats! Do you hear me? I'm not scared of you anymore! You know why? Because I'm about to take you down!"

"STOP!" A voice shouted.

Cyrus was caught off guard, in the middle of his big moment, and fell to the ground. "Who said that?"

A taller boy with a dark blue uniform and hair soon approached the two. A younger version of Cyrus' older brother. "Zane?"

Ane walked up to the bully, handing him a card. "This duel never happened. Got it?"

The bully looked at the card, and smiled. "Nice card. You got yourself a deal."

"What are you doing Zane?" Cyrus asked, standing up. "I was about to win with the card you gave me."

"No you weren't Cyrus." Zane replied sternly. "And If I had known you were going to misplay it, I would have never have given it to you in the first place."

"Misplay?" Cyrus asked confused. "I wasn't gonna misplay it."

"Yes you were. There was a face down on your opponent's field." Zane replied, pointing to the mentioned card, which turned out to be Spellbinding Circle.

"Spellbinding Circle?" Cyrus gasped.

"That's right, a very powerful trap card. Once it's played, the targeted monster can't attack, or change its battle position. You would have summoned a monster with Power Bond, but this trap would have stopped you, making you take Power Bond's effect at the end of the turn. You weren't thinking Cyrus. You didn't take into effect the face down, or Power Bond's after effect. Sure you know how to use Power Bond, but there's more to dueling than just that." Zane said, which made Cyrus drop to his knees.

* * *

"Just holding this card gives me chills." Cyrus muttered. "And what did Zane mean? That using it isn't enough…"

"You alright over there Cy?" Jaden asked, snapping Cyrus back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine … Okay, I'll play Pollymarization, and fuse Steamroid and Gyroid, to summon Steam Gyroid!"

The two monsters were sucked into a vortex, and a new monsters emerged with Steamroid's body, and Gyroids fan blades. **Atk-2200 Def-1800**

"Alright, it's time to go loco-motive! Steam Gyroid attack Avian with Train Twister!" Cyrus' cartoonish monster spun it's propellor blades, which created a powerful twister that destroyed Avian.

 **Jaden-LP 2800**

"Had enough Jaden?" Cyrus asked, and to his surprise, his friend began laughing.

"Have I had enough? Come on Cy, you know the old saying. No pain, no gain. And with what I have planned, you're gonna get a lot." Jaden said, still laughing as he drew.

"Now I'll play my own Polymarization, and fuse Sparkman and Clayman! Meet Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" The skies darkened, thunder rumbled, and a bolt of lightning crashed down in front of Jaden, with the large Elemental Hero emerging seconds later. **Atk-2400 Def-1500**

"This doesn't bode well for Cyrus." Yuri said. "That monster Jaden summoned can destroy any monster who's original attack is lower than its own."

"Guess practice is ending early for Cyrus." Alexis sighed, as Thunder Giant destroyed Steam Gyroid with its effect.

"Aw man… I'm defenseless." Cyrus groaned.

"Yeah you are! Now I'll summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode!" Jaden smiled, calling out the female hero. **Atk-1200 Def-800**

"Alright, Thunder Giant, Burstinatrix, attack directly!" Jaden said, before his monsters destroyed what was left of Cyrus life points.

 **Cyrus-LP 0000**

"That's game!" Jaden smiled, giving his signature two finger salute. "Great duel Cyrus!"

"I don't know, I didn't put up much of a fight." Cyrus groaned.

"What are you talking about? Sure I was able to pull through in the end, but you pulled off some sweet moves yourself. Although… I am wondering what that card you didn't play was." Jaden said, taking a look at Cyrus' hand, which ade his eyes go wide. "Power Bond? That's a sweet card! You could have won if you played that … Which makes me wonder why you didn't."

"Because my brother said I'm not good enough to play it." Cyrus sighed, taking his cards back. "And it's obvious he's right. It's also obvious you won't be able to win with me as your rag partner." He said before running off.

"Hey Cy, wait!" Jaden called, before Chumley took off after him.

"Guess this wasn't Cyrus' day." Yuki sighed walking up to Jaden, being joined shortly after by his two siblings and Alexis.

"I guess practice doesn't always make perfect." Alexis said. "At least not with Cyrus."

"I don't get it." Jaden frowned. "Cyrus is a cool guy, but he doesn't see what I see. He has a problem believing in himself, and he has this awesome spell card, but he doesn't use it because his brother told him not to."

This news made Yuri frown. "He doesn't sound like a very good brother to me. Especially if he says that."

"Uh guys…" Alexis said, getting everyone's attention.

"Something wrong Alexis?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah… that brother of Cyrus' goes to this school, and you've probably heard of him." She said.

The three students shared a look of confusion, and shook their heads at the same time.

"Hello? Third year Obelisk Blue, and the best duelist on campus. Zane, and he's as good as his reputation. Maybe even better." Alexis explained.

"Wait… Zane 'Kaiser' Trusedale is Cyrus' older brother?" Yumei asked wide eyed.

"Well he doesn't sound very good to his little brother." Jaden frowned. "I wonder what happened between them…"

"Jaden don't pry." Alexis warned.

"I'm not gonna pry. I'm gonna duel!" Jaden said, his frown vanishing.

"Jaden!" There was an exasperated note in Alexis' voice. "You're not listening. Nobody duels Zane."

"They do when their tag partner is not up to snuff because of him. I'm gonna duel to see if I stack up to the best!" There was a detirmined look in Jadens eyes.

"Give it up Alexis, he's not gonna stop." Yuki sighed, shaking his head.

"Then go get him Jaden." Alexis said, smiling.

"He's not the only one who wants a piece of this guy." Yuri said, his arms crossed. "I think I'm gonna give the so called best at the school a piece of my mind about this whole situation too."

"Looks like Zane is gonna have a lot on his hands." Yumei sighed.


	14. Chapter 14

Early the next morning Alexis was walking towards the lighthouse by the Slifer dorms. There was less fog than there was the last time she made the trip, which made what she saw all the more shocking. Two people were standing by the lighthouse, two people she knew, and the both of them were in the middle of a duel.

"I can't believe it… Yuri's actually dueling Zane…" Alexis said completely shocked that Yuri made good on his plan to duel Zane. Though said duel didn't seem to be going in Yuri's favor, as he had no monsters on his field.

 **Yuri-LP 2800**

 **Zane-LP 4000**

"You're skilled, but I'm afraid that this duel is over." Zane said, with a small air of confidence in his voice. "You have no monsters on your field, and my monster has enough attack strength to instantly end things."

Cyber Twin Dragon **Atk-2800 Def-2100**

"Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, end this! Twin Strident Burst!" Zane's monster reared both of its heads, and let out a powerful stream of energy at Yuri.

"Sorry Zane, but I'm not done yet." Yuri smirked in a similar fashion to his younger siblings. "Because you're attacking me directly, I can special summon this monster. Swordsman of Revealing Light!"

Zane scowled, as a warrior with bright armor, wielding the Swords of Revealing Light as his weapon appeared on Yuri's field, stopping the attack of Zane's monster. **Atk-0 Def-2400**

"See this monster is able to negate the attack of one of my opponents monsters." Yuri explained, his smirk still on his face.

"One attack sure." Zane countered. "However my monster is able to attack twice in the same turn."

"No he's not." Yuri replied, which caused Zane to frown. "My swordsman has another effect. See if he blocks an attack, and his defense is higher than the attacking monster, then that monster is destroyed!"

Both Zane and Alexis' eyes went wide at this news, right before Yuri's swordsman sliced both heads off Zane's monster.

"Then I guess it's your move." Zane's tone was somewhat between a growl of irritation, and a sigh of resignation.

"Alright." Yuri assessed both his new card, and the other cards in his hand. "Well the first thing I'll do is play Cost Down. By discarding a monster card, I can reduce another monsters level. Which is enough for me to summon Dark Red Enchanter!"

Yuri's monster was a spellcaster with golden armor, and a dark red robe. **Atk-1700 Def-2200**

"And then there's his special effect. See when he's summoned, he gets two spell counters placed on him. And he gains 300 attack points for every counter on him."

Dark Red Enchanter **Atk-2300**

' _This isn't looking good for Zane…'_ Alexis thought to herself. ' _Looks like Yuri is as good as Yuki and Yumei say.'_

"Now I'll activate the spell Premature Burial." Yuri inserted the spell card into his duel disk, making Dark Red Enchanter grow stronger.

Dark Red Enchanter **Atk-2600**

 **Yuri-LP 2000**

"I get it." Zane said, realising there was more to the spellcasters effect than Yuri let on. "Your monster gets stronger whenever a spell card is activated.

"Give the man a prize." Yuri smiled. "And I know just the reward to give you. A look at the monster I discarded with Cost Down. Rise Darkblaze Dragon!"

A wicked looking serpentine dragon rose from the ground next to Dark Red Enchanter. **Atk-1200 Def-1000**

"And since he was special summoned, his attack and defense are doubled." Yuri explained, as his dragon roared.

Darkblaze Dragon **Atk-2400 Def-2000**

"Now my two monsters attack directly!" Yuri ordered, before his two monsters wiped out Zane's life points in one move.

 **Zane-LP 0000**

"I can't believe it." Alexis said, completely shocked. "Zane lost…"

"Now as promised, you and I talk." Yuri said, as his duel disk deactivated.

"And what do you want to talk about?" Zane asked, with an almost imperceptible tilt of his head

"Your little brother."

* * *

The sun had risen over the island, and Jaden was filling out a duel request form in the main building's card shop. "Jeez, is 'Zane' spelled with two 'n's'..."

While Jaden was attempting to fill out the mentioned request form, he hadn't notice Dr. Crowler. That was right up until the head of the Obelisk dorm snatchedthe duel request form out of the Slifer's hands. "Planning a duel are we? Against who?"

Dr. Crowler took one look at the form, and let out a sputtering laugh. "You must be joking!"

"No I'm not." Jaden shot back. "I'm taking Zane on to help Cyrus with his confidence problem, so he'll be ready for our duel."

"Ah yes, the big tag match where if you lose, you'll both be expelled. Well that's a shame, because there will be no duel." Crowler sneered, shredding the request form.

* * *

In the woods near the Slifer dorm, a certain heavy set koala loving Slifer was revising his deck.

"Look, it's not you, it's me. I just can't use you, and I gotta make room for another Koala. 15 oughta do." Chumley said, while talking to one of his cards.

"15? Chum, I think the rules say that you can't use more than 3 copies of a card in your deck." Yuki said, standing at the base of the tree Chumley was sitting in.

"Hey Yuki, what are you doing here?" Chumley asked, before climbing down from the tree he was sitting in.

"Taking a walk, trying to clear my head." Yuki replied, before further explaining. "It still bothers me that Jaden and Cyrus are in this situation, since Yumei and I were there with them."

"I know how you feel." Chumley huffed, leaning to pick up his koala cards, as they had fallen out of his hand when the heavier boy climbed down.. "I wish there was more we could do to help."

"Hey guys!" Both the Obelisk, and the Slifer jumped, when Jaden greeted them, which also caused Chumley to drop what cards he had in in his hand.

"Hey Jaden." Chumley greeted his friend. "Whaddup?"

"Chumley, there's like a zillion koala cards here…" Jaden said, walking up and picking one of Chumley's Des Koala cards off the ground.

"Koala's are great." Chumley replied with a fond smile, as Jaden handed him back his monster card. "Wanna have a pick-up duel against them?"

"A pick-up duel? Why didn't i think of that?" Jaden's eyes lit up excitedly, before he ran off.

"Wait a second, where are you going?" Yuki called after his friend.

"The Obelisk dorm!" Jaden replied excitedly.

"Why are you going there?" Both Yuki and Chumley asked simultaneously.

"To duel Zane!"

Both Yuki and Chumley groaned, the former pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"I really thought he was kidding about that yesterday." Yuki groaned, shaking his head.

"Apparently not." Yumei said, walking up to the two boys. "I only caught the last part of that exchange, but it looks like Jaden really is determined to duel Zane."

"Well, what are you doing here Yumei?" Chumley asked, having returned to picking up his scattered koala cards off the ground.

"I came to grab Yuki here. There's a really big duel going down by the Ra dorms, and you gotta see this!" Yumei grabbed her twin's hand, before running off.

* * *

Yumei wasn't lying, there was a very heated duel taking place in front of the Ra dorms. It had drawn quite the crowd, and not just what looked to be the entirety of the Ra students. There was a rather large number of Obelisks including Kai, Alexis, Fujin, Jasmine, and Mindy.

The reason for all the Obelisks gathered, was that one of their own. A tall Obelisk boy, with bright red hair was one of the student's dueling. His opponent, was a Ra student who's dark hair fell in front of his eyes, and who had a preference for insects.

 **Miko-LP 2000**

 **Obelisk-LP 3300**

"Okay, my draw." Miko announced, drawing a card off the top of his deck. "Now it's been two turns since I played my Cocoon, so now you're about to meet my new monster. Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!" The large cocoon in front of the insect duelist cracked, and a large green moth crawled out of it. **Atk-2600 Def-2500**

"Now, my monster attack! Destroy Balrog!" At Miko's command, Great Moth flapped its large wings creating a large gust of wind, which destroyed the Obelisk's fiery looking demon, which in turn destroyed the two Armored Hornets on his field, that clearly belonged to Miko.

 **Obelisk-LP 2500**

"Hey, he's improved since coming to the academy." Yuki said, smiling as he and Yumei joined the crowd of Obelisks.

"Told you you'd want to see this." Yumei said excitedly, while Chumley joined them huffing and attempting to catch his breath. He really did hate running.

"He keeps dueling like this, he'll be an obelisk soon." Kai said, clearly impressed with Miko's dueling.

"Well, Char is still ahead." Mindy countered, though clearly impressed with how well the Ra was dueling. "And his turn is starting."

"Okay, that was a good move." The Obelisk named Char said, drawing his next card. "But let's see how you deal with this. I activate the spell card Aetonix Flame!"

"Uh-oh…" The Hyoudou twins said at the same time.

"What?" Jasmine said, turning her attention to the twins.

"This spell card destroys all monsters my opponent special summoned this turn!" Char explained, and true to his word Miko's monster was engulfed in flames, before shattering in a cloud of pixels.

"But it doesn't end there. I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn and bring back my Balrog!" Char's fiery demon appeared back on his field, when the Obelisk boy slid the spell card into his duel disk. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

"Now I'll activate another spell card; Flame Whip!" Char inserted yet another spell card into his duel disk. "This card brings back all monsters destroyed this turn, to my side of the field as Fire attribute monsters!"

The large crowd gasped, as Miko's Great Moth rose onto Char's field, which in turn strengthened Balrog.

Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth **Atk-2600 Def-2500**

Balrog **Atk-1500 Def-1000**

"However, due to the effect of Aetonix Flame, I'm unable to attack you this turn." Char said, having no choice but to end his turn.

"Okay…" Miko sighed, drawing his next card. "I'll activate Pot of Greed, and then I'll summon my Pinch Hopper in attack mode! But that's not my only move, since I have two more spell cards to play." The Ra inserted the last two cards in his hand back into his duel disk. "The first is Eradicating Erisol, and I'll use it to destroy my Pinch Hopper!"

"Wait, why would you destroy your own monster?" Char asked, as a can of insect killer appeared on Miko's field and destroyed the small grass hopper monster.

"Because, when Pinch Hopper is destroyed, I can special summon a stronger monster. Meet my Insect Queen!" A spider-like monster, with the upper torso of a woman appeared on the Ra's field. **Atk-2500 Def-2400**

"And her effect, gives her a boost of 300 attack points for every insect monster on the field." Miko began to smile, as his monster grew stronger.

Insect Queen **Atk-2800**

"And my second spell card is Change of Heart!" An excited gasp went through the crowd, as Miko revealed his second spell card. "Now I can take control of one of your monsters, so I'm bringing Great Moth back to my side of the field!"

"Looks like this duel is just about ready to wrap up." Kai said, smiling while Great Moth came back to Miko's field.

Balrog **Atk-1000**

"Now Great Moth, attack Balrog!" Miko's moth destroyed the fiery demon with another gust created by its wings.

 **Char-LP 900**

"Now, my Insect Queen can't attack unless I sacrifice an insect monster. So I'll tribute my moth, so my queen can attack directly!" Miko's moth vanished from his field, depowering the other insect monster, however 2500 attack points was more than enough. "Insect Queen, direct attack!"

 **Char-LP 0000**

There were cheers from the Ra's gathered, and from a good share of the Obelisks. Though there were a few disappointed groans from the students in blue, due to one of their own not coming away with the win.

"Looks like he's gotten over his shyness." Yuki said, indicating the victorious Ra student.

"True, but Char is no pushover." Alexis replied, while Char shook hands with Miko. "He had control for most of the duel."

"But it only takes the right card to mount a comeback." Kai countered, before turning his attention to Yuki. "I heard your brother is on the island."

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him since yesterday. So I don't know where he is." Yuki shrugged, knowing where his friend was going with this. "So you'll have to postpone your duel."

"Am I that predictable?" Kai asked, lightly rubbing the back of his head.

* * *

Over at the Obelisk dorm, a determined Jaden had attempted to make his way in, so he could challenge Zane. However, he was stopped by two other Obelisk boy's who pushed Jaden to the ground.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Jaden glared up at the two Obelisks.

The first was a rather tall boy with spiky brown hair. There was a rather disgusted look on his face, as he stared down at Jaden. "I don't have a problem, but you will if you don't beat it Slifer Slacker."

The other Obelisk was a boy with short black hair, who was slightly smaller than his friend. "Yeah, Zane wouldn't waste his time with you. You're probably still wet behind the ears from pre-duel school."

"Am not!" Jaden countered, before he was soaked when the two boys doused him with abucket of water.

"Now you are!" The taller of the two said, before the two of them walked away laughing.

Jaden growled, gritting his teeth in anger. "We will duel Zane … we will."

* * *

Later in the day, Jaden, Chumley, and Yuki were making their way towards the Slifer dorms. One of the three had given the hero duelist a towel to dry himself off with, after the rather rude treatment he'd received at the Obelisk dorms.

"Remind me to introduce those two to a few new dragons I added to my deck." Yuki growled, already knowing the perfect monster to use against those two Obelisks. If that was how they were going to treat his friends, then maybe it was time to bring _him_ back out.

"What are you gonna do now?" Chumley asked, while the three ascended the steps to the second floor of the Slifer dorms.

"I'm not giving up." Jaden vowed, an uncharacteristically serious look in the Slifer student's eyes. "One way or another, I'm gonna duel Zane."

"Jaden, I know you're good." Yuki began, as the three entered Jaden's dorm room. "But Zane's the best duelist in the school."

"Oh come on." Jaden groaned, looking over his shoulder at the Obelisk. "You were on my side about this yesterday."

"I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into is all." Yuki countered.

"Best in the school or not." Jaden began. "If Zane's affecting the way Cyrus duels, I gotta find out why. And if that means I gotta duel him to get some answers, then that's what I'll do!"

"Alright." Yuki relented. "If you think you can take him on, you go for it. And I'll be in your corner when you do."

It was then, the three noticed that Cyrus was still in bed, his blanket wrapped around him.

"Why is he sleeping in the middle of the day?" Yuki asked frowning slightly.

"Come on Cyrus get up!" Jaden nudged the bundle that was Cyrus. "This is ridiculous, even Chumley got up today!"

"Yeah, lousey bladder…" The heavier boy groaned.

Jaden then yanked back on the blanket, revealing it was just a pillow. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Uh, Jay?" Yuki called, having noticed a letter addressed to Jaden on Cyrus' desk. "You might want to check this out…"

"What's it say?" Chumley asked, when Yuki showed them the letter.

"Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try to stop me, I'll only be holding you back. Cyrus." Yuki read aloud.

"Cy's not going anywhere." That determined look was back in look was back in Jaden's eyes.

Yuki nodded his agreement. "Yeah, he couldn't have gone far. Let's go look for him!"

"But after dinner right?" Chumley asked, with a hopeful tone in his voice.

"Nope!" Jaden said, much to the larger Slifer's dismay. "We're going right now!"

"But it's grilled cheese night!" Chumley groaned.

"Chumley!" Both Jaden and Yuki snapped.

"Alright, let's go." Chumley sighed, before the three boys ran out in search of their friend.

"If we don't hurry, it'll be Cyrus' last day!" Jaden said, as the three ran.

* * *

The sun had begun to set, while the three boys searched for their friend. In a small bay close to the lighthouse, Cyrus had constructed a small makeshift raft for his preparation to leave Duel Academy.

"So long Duel Academy." Cyrus sniffled, wiping away a tear.

* * *

"Cyrus! Cyrus where are you?" Jaden called, before he a bright light came from both his and Yuki's deck box.

"What the…?" Both boys asked, before noticing Winged Kuriboh and Neo the Magic Swordsman had appeared in front of them.

"You too?" They asked one another simultaneously, before Yuki shook his head.

"Questions for another time." The Obelisk said, before turning his attention to the duel sprits. "Can you two find Cyrus?"

Neo nodded once, motioning for Yuki to follow the duel spirits.

"So hungry … hearing voices…" Chumley groaned, tired from all the running. He really did hate running.

"Come on!" Jaden called to the heavier Slifer, before running after Yuki.

"Aw, first no grilled cheese, now I gotta run!" Chumley groaned again, before following his friends.

* * *

Around the same time Yuki, Jaden, and Chumley were looking for Cyrus, Zane stood by the lighthouse close to the Slifer dorm. It was there Alexis found him.

"Any new leads?" Zane asked, turning his attention to her.

Alexis shook her head. "I can't believe he's still gone. I keep looking for some sign, but it's like he vanished into thin air."

"You'll find him." Zane replied. "Besides, don't you have that Yuki kid helping you now?"

"He's trying." Alexis said. "But speaking of brothers, how did that conversation between you and Yuri go?"

Alexis could have sworn, a smile crossed Zane's face if only for a split second. "I'll tell you later, but why do you want to know?"

"Because I ran into your little brother the other day. He lost a practice duel to Jaden, and your name came up … and not in the good way." Alexis answered.

"The big bad brother huh? Does this Jaden kid want to scold me?" Zane asked.

"Actually, I think he wants to duel you." Alexis replied.

"Wouldn't be the first time today." Zane remarked.

Alexis was about to say something else, when she was cut off by the sound of Cyrus' voice. "Stay back Jaden!"

"Huh?" Alexis looked around, spotting the small Slifer in question. "Cyrus?"

Cyrus jumped onto his makeshift raft, in an attempt to put space between him and Jaden, however Jaden leapt onto the raft as well, thus making it too heavy, and causing the both of them to fall into the ocean.

"Help me! I can't swim!" Cyrus cried out, before Jaden grabbed a hold of him.

"And you were gonna sail away into the ocean?" Jaden asked sarcastically. "That's smart."

"Hang on guys!" Yuki called, preparing to jump into the ocean, when a pair of arms blocked him. Both Neo and Mahad appeared, and hand blocked the Obelisk boy. "But why?"

' _Just wait for it partner'_ Neo's spirit replied.

Not two seconds after Neo spoke to Yuki, Jadne stood up revealing just how shallow the water actually was. "Really Cyrus?"

"Why did you come after me Jaden? I stink! They'll assign you a new partner! Just let me go, and you'll have a much better shot of winning!" Cyrus pleaded.

"Cy, that's your big brother talking." Both Yuki and Jaden said, as Jaden brought himself and Cyrus back to the shore.

"You gotta believe me, I'm a lost cause." Cyrus whined yet again.

"He's right you know." A cold voice said behind Yuki.

"In case you were wondering Jaden." Yuki began, as Zane and Alexis approached. "That's Zane."

"You dropping out little brother?" Zane asked.

"Uh, yeah kinda." Cyrus answered.

"It's about time." Zane said coldly, which made Cyrus hang his head in shame, and caused Jaden and Yuki to glare up at the Obelisk.

"He's your brother!" Jaden growled. "How can you say that?"

"Because I know him." Zane answered simply.

"Yeah I bet you know it all, but guess what you don't!" Jaden once again had that detirmined look in his eyes. "And I'm gonna prove it right now! Let's duel!"

"I'm with Jaden on this Zane." Yuki said, making good on his earlier promise to support his friends decision to take Zane on. "There are some line's you just don't cross."

"Duel a Slifer?" Zane thought about this for a moment. "Well it's been a while since I've gone slumming."

"Don't do it Jaden." Cyrus warned. "He's the best for a reason."

"I'm sure he is Cy." Jaden smiled. ' _And I'm sure this will solve Cy's confidence problem without hurting mine.'_

* * *

The sun had fully set by the time Zane and Jaden were ready. They were still on the shoreline where Cyrus had attempted to leave Duel Academy on his raft. Which ironically was where Jaden and Cyrus dueled the previous day.

"Duel!"

 **Jaden-LP 4000**

 **ZaneLP-4000**

"I'll draw first!" Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. "And I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!"

The familiar winged, green armored hero rose onto Jaden's field. **Atk-1000 Def-1000**

"Now I'll finish with a facedown!" Jaden declared, inserting a card into his duel disk.

"That's all huh?" Zane asked, drawing his sixth card. "Well I'll summon Summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode!"

A large metallic serpentine dragon appeared on Zane's field. **Atk-2100 Def-1600**

"Wait, hold on! How can you summon a level five monster on your first turn?" Jaden asked, completely shocked.

"It's _because_ it's my first turn." Zane answered, before explaining. "If I have no monsters on my field, while my opponent does, I can summon Cyber Dragon without having to tribute anything. Now I'll activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon."

"Well that was fast." Jaden said, as his facedown card was destroyed.

"Not as fast as your life point meter is about to go down." Zane replied. "Cyber Dragon attack! Strident Blast!" Zane's monster let out a stream of bright fire from its mouth, engulfing and destroying Avian.

 **Jaden-LP 2900**

' _I tried to warn him Zane was good.'_ Cyrus thought.

"Cyber Dragons huh?" Yuki mused, looking down from the cliffside.

"What's going on now?" Yuri asked, joining the small group.

"Jaden's dueling Zane." Yuki replied not taking his eyes off of the duel.

"He's doing what now?" Yumei asked, stepping up on her twin's right side.

"See my previous statement." Yuki replied with a small huff of laughter. "And where did you two come from?"

"We were looking for you." Yuri said, now paying attention to the duel between Jaden and Zane. "But we'll talk about that later. I want to see how this plays out."

"Next, I'll play Different Dimension Capsule. It allows me to pick any card in my deck, and remove it from play. Then in two turns, I can add that removed card to my hand." Zane explained, as his chosen card was placed into a blue colored sarcophagus.

"He must have placed a really powerful monster in that capsule." Yuki mused.

"I bet I know which monster he chose." Yuri said, while the duel continued.

"It's your turn Jaden." Zane said ending his turn.

' _Yeah and I better make it count. I'm starting to think not only is this guy is as good as everyone says he is, he's even better. But that doesn't mean he's better than me!'_ Jaden smiled, drawing his next card. "Round two! And first I'll rock Polymarization, to fuse Sparkman and Clayman, to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

Both of Jaden's chosen heroes merged to create the powerful electric hero from Jaden's duel with Cyrus from the previous day. **Atk-2400 Def-1500**

"Here comes the pain." Chumley smiled.

"Yeah, and with Thunder Giant's effect, Zane's in for it." Yumei replied, smirking.

"And with my monster's effect, he can destroy any monster with attack points weaker than his. Meaning, your Cyber Dragon is toast!" Jaden smiled, as his monster destroyed Zane's. "Yes! Looks like Thunder Giant made the big man on campus even smaller!"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Chumley smiled.

"Get him Jaden." The Hyoudou said in unison.

"And since that blast was just his special ability, I still get to attack!" Jaden said, as Thunder Giant hit Zane with a giant bolt of lighting, though the Obelisk didn't even flinch.

 **Zane-LP 1600**

"You could at least flinch. Oh well, maybe this facedown card will make you." Jaden said, inserting another card into his duel disk.

' _Yeah, if Jaden lasts long enough to use it.'_ Cyrus thought yet again.

"Nice moves kid. But now that my field is empty, I can summon another Cyber Dragon." Zane said, as a second Cyber Dragon appeared on Zane's field. "Or better yet, how about two. I play Monster Reborn! And since there's only one monster in my graveyard, guess who's coming back?"

Zane's first Cyber Dragon appeared yet again on Zane's field. "But neither of them will be sticking around for long … in present form. I play my own Polymarization. Dragons unite! And Cyber Twin Dragon emerge!"

Cyber Twin Dragon **Atk-2800 Def-2100**

"Twin dragons? One was bad enough." Chumley said.

"Now my monster can attack twice in one turn!" Zane explained. "Which means double the trouble for your monster, and your life points. Attack!"

"Not so fast! I have a trap! A Hero Emerges! Normally you'd chose a card at random in my hand, but since there's only one card in my hand, let's skip that. Wroughtweiller in defense mode!"

Wroughtweiller resembled a mechanical looking hound. **Atk-800 Def-1200**

"You'll need him. Cyber Twin Dragon, double strident blast!" Zane ordered, as his monster destroyed both of Jaden's monsters.

 **Jaden-LP 2500**

"Glad you did that, because when Wroughtweiller is destroyed, his special ability activates! I take one Elemental Hero, and one Polymarization from my graveyard, and add them to my hand. Just when you thought you could stop worrying about them, huh Zane?" Jaden smirked, grabbing his chosen spell card, and Clayman.

"I don't worry." Zane replied.

"Aw man! You're so chill, you are good." Jaden smiled.

"Thanks, you are too Jaden." Zane replied with a slight smile.

"Well at least he's being nice." Alexis said with a small smile.

' _Since when does Zane give prompts?'_ Cyrus asked himself.

"Now where was I?" Jaden asked, drawing his next card. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!" A male hero with blue armor, and cape appeared on Jaden's field. "And since he's here, I can use his special ability to draw two cards."

Elemental Hero Bubbleman **Atk-800 Def-1200**

Jaden smiled, as he took a look at his hand. ' _Winged Kuriboh and Transcendent Wing! That's the same card combo I used to trash Chazz's Dragon Catapult Cannon! An evolved Winged Kuriboh would be enough to trash Zane's twin dragon, and deal its attack back at him as damage! That would be enough to win the duel, but I can't summon anymore monsters this turn. So I'm just gonna have to wait until next turn.'_

"Alright Zane, I'll play Polymarization and fuse Clayman and Bubbleman to summon Elemental Hero Mudballman!" Jaden's new monster had a perfectly round body, round arms, and a blue head. **Atk-1900 Def-3000**

"Lishious! Mudballman has 3000 defense points! Twin Dragon won't be able to touch Jaden." Chumley smiled.

"Come on Jay, you got this." Yuki said, his fists clenched.

"I don't believe this, Jaden might actually win." Cyrus said, in disbelief.

"Alright Zane, gimmie your best shot!" Jaden said in a challenging tone.

"My best?" Zane asked. "Alright, you got it." He drew his next card, as a blue sarcophagus appeared on his field.

"Oh crap…" Yuki said. "The capsule."

"It's been two turns since I activated the capsule, and now I get to add the card I removed from play into my hand. You play well, but not well enough." Zane said, adding the new card into his hand.

"Gimmie your best shot. I'm ready." Jaden challenged.

"I'm sure you are. A good duelist is ready for anything. And knows the difference between using a card, and playing it. And you play your cards very well." Zane said, looking up at his brother.

' _That's a good compliment, but even greater advice. I just hope Cyrus was listening.'_ Jaden thought.

' _Of course! That's what he meant all those years ago! Using a card, and playing it are two different things!'_ Cyrus realized.

"First I play De-Fusion, to split my Twin Dragon into two separate Cyber Dragons. Next I activate the spell card Power Bond! It allows me to summon a powerful machine-type fusion monster, and with the final Cyber Dragon I have in my hand, I have everything I need to summon Cyber End Dragon!"

Everyone gasped, as the three headed machine monster appeared.

Cyber End Dragon **Atk-4000 Def-2800**

"Woah, that's a really powerful monster." Yuri said.

"Yeah, Mudballman doesn't stand a chance." Yumei agreed.

"It's like the second coming of Seto Kaiba." Yuki mused.

"And thanks to Power Bond's effect, when I fusion summon a monster with it, my monster's attack is doubled!" Zane said, as his monster's attack rose.

Cyber End Dragon **Atk-8000**

"And when my monster attacks a monster in defense mode, he deals the difference between his attack, and your monsters defense to you as damage!" Zane announced.

"Just hang in there!" Chumley said. "If you can survive this round, you can win thanks to Power Bond's effect!"

"That's right, at the end of the turn, the one who uses Power Bond is dealt damage equal to the monster's original attack." Alexis said.

' _But it won't matter if you play it right. And Zane has … I just wish it wasn't at Jaden's expense…'_ Cyrus thought dejectedly.

"Cyber End Dragon, attack Mudballman! Super Strident Blast!" Zane's monster roared, before releasing three streams of bright fire, which obliterated Jaden's monster, as well as the rest of his life points.

 **Jaden-LP 0000**

"I don't believe it…" Yuki was completely floored by what he just saw. "Jaden lost…"

"Jaden!" Cyrus cried out, running towards his friend.

Jaden lifted his head, revealing he was smiling. "Great duel Zane."

Zane smiled, and before turning away he made eye contact with his younger brother. And in that moment, there was some sort of mutual understanding between the two.

"I'll see you guys later." Alexis said, before following Zane.

"So what do you think?" She asked, as she caught up to him.

"I think Cyrus chose some good friends." Zane replied smiling.

* * *

"Wait, hang on." Yuki said, completely shocked. "You dueled Zane this morning?"

The three siblings were sitting in the rather spacious common room of the Obelisk dorm, Yuri explaining what he'd done earlier that morning.

"Not only that, but you won?" Yumei asked.

"Yes." The eldest of the Hyoudou siblings answered. "And he had some interesting things to say about Cyrus after."

* * *

" _So you wanted to talk about Cyrus." Zane said, as the two walked alongside one another. "Why?"_

" _From what I understand, you're being rather … cold towards him. Like he doesn't belong here." Yuri explained his case to the Obelisk._

" _Well he doesn't." Zane answered, before continuing. "At least not yet at least. There's a crucial piece of dueling that Cyrus isn't understanding. And that's knowing how to use a card, and knowing how to play it."_

" _Fair enough, but don't you think that it should be Cyrus' choice to decide wether he belongs here or not?" Yuri asked. "Here me out, you're the best duelist in this school right now, and Cyrus is intimidated by that. That's the cause of his…"_

" _Sloppy dueling?" Zane supplied._

" _Exactly." Yuri continued. "I think Cyrus is here not just to prove to you he belongs here, but he wants to prove he's a good duelist in your eyes."_

 _Zane huffed, a smile forming on his face. "Cyrus doesn't need my approval in order to be a good duelist."_

* * *

"Huh … I had him pegged wrong. Yuki said more to himself, before remembering something from earlier. "Wait, what did you two want to talk to me about earlier?"

"Oh yeah!" Yumei said perking up. "Chancellor Shepard and Dr. Crowler, came to me earlier today. I'm up for a promotion duel!"

"What!?" Yuki nearly fell out of his seat at this news.

"Yup!" Yumei smiled brightly. "But it'll be after Jaden and Cyrus' tag duel."

"And speaking of that." Yuri said, the three not noticing two other Obelisk boys approaching. "I think those two need a test duel, to make sure they're ready for their upcoming match."

"Hey!" one of the Obelisk boys exclaimed, getting the siblings attention. It was the Obelisk with spiky brown hair, one of the two that had treated Jaden so poorly earlier that day, and his friend wasn't too far behind him. "What's a Ra doing here!?"

"Oh hey guys…" Yuki said, rising from his seat. "I hear you two were rather rude to a friend of mine earlier today…"

"The Slifer?" The smaller Obelisk with dark hair asked, before beginning to laugh. "You're seriously friends with a Slifer?"

"If you're gonna hang around with a Slifer, and invite a Ra into our dorm, then you don't belong here." The taller Obelisk sneered.

"If you're gonna treat other students like garbage, and only hide behind that blue coat of yours." Yuki growled, the new Millenium Ring beginning to glow. "You don't deserve to wear that blue coat."

"Those are fighting words." The brown haired Obelisk growled.

"Then let's duel." Yuki's expression was suddenly very serious.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuri was at the Slifer dorm early the next morning, much to the shock of Jaden and Cyrus. The three were standing just outside the dorm along with Chumley, Yumie, Kai, Fujin and Alexis.

"Wait … a duel?" Cyrus asked, looking between Yuri and Jaden, who had an excited look on his face.

"Yeah. You two team up and duel against me." Yuri explained. "If you two want to win your tag match, you need to get some practice in. So let me explain the rules for this particular duel. The both of you will have separate life point counters, and we'll duel in a pendulum formation. Meaning Jaden will draw first, then I'll go, then Cyrus, then back to me, then Jaden. Now since Cyrus is the last to draw in this duel, he'll be the first to attack."

"Well I'm down for it if you are Cy!" Jaden exclaimed, readying his duel disk.

The smaller Slifer was hesitant, but conceded as he wanted both to make sure they stayed at the academy, and to make Zane proud. "Okay."

"So…" Alexis began speaking to Yumei. "Something doesn't add up here. Why is your older brother challenging Jaden and Cyrus. If the two want to get some practice in, why don't they take on you and Yuki?"

"Because, Yu is a little … busy at the moment." Yumei explained, before a large explosion sounded off at the vicinity of the Obelisk dorm.

"What was that?" Alexis asked, before her eyes went wide. She could have sworn she saw an outline of a five-headed monster.

"Huh… Yu actually brought it out." Yumei mused, and then added. "He's only bought that monster out twice before now. He calls it his 'super ace' monster."

"If that what I think it was, he's right to call it his super ace." Alexis said, before the two turned their attention back to the duel that was just starting.

"Duel!"

 **Jaden-LP 4000**

 **Cyrus-LP 4000**

 **Yuri-LP 4000**

"Alright, since we're going in the order you set, I'll draw!" Jaden announced, drawing his sixth card. "And I'll start by summoning my Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode!"

Elemental Hero Clayman **Atk-800 Def-2000**

"Then I'll throw down a face down, and call it a turn." Jaden declared, setting his chosen card into his duel disk.

"Alright, my draw." Yuri said, assessing his hand. "Alright, first I'll play the spell card Arcane Barrier. This spell card allows me to place a spell counter on this card for each spellcaster that's destroyed. I can then send this card to the graveyard, to draw cards equal to the number of spell counters on this card."

"Next I'll summon this, it's a new monster called Tuned Magician!" Yuri's monster was a spellcaster with white and green robes. **Atk-1800 Def-1600** "And I'll call it a turn, your move Cyrus."

"Okay, here goes." Cyrus said drawing. "Okay… I… I summon this, Gyroid in defense mode." Cyrus' cartoonish monster appeared on his field in a defensive stance." **Atk-1000 Def-1000** "Then I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

"Alright, my turn again." Yuri said, drawing his next card. "Okay guys, get ready for this. First I'll summon Apprentice Magician in defense mode, but he's only sticking around so the first part of his effect can activate."

Apprentice Magician resembled a young man with purple robes, and a red ribbon tied around his forehead. **Atk-400 Def-800**

"See when he's summoned, I can place two spell counters on cards that require them. Like say, my Arcane Barrier. But like I said, I'm only using the first part of his effect … at least for now anyways. Because now Tuned Magician's effect kicks off. See he's a new kind of monster called a Tuner."

"Tuner?" Jaden asked sounding confused. "I've never heard of them."

"Nobody has, except for myself and Maximillion Pegasus." Yuri explained. "See they're a new type of monster that won't be available for the next few months. But I got some early, since I won the American Grand Prix Industrial Illusions was hosting. So you get to experience this monster's ability first hand, because he can combine with another monster on my field, in order to special summon a more powerful monster called a Synchro."

"See in order to do what Pegasus calls synchro summoning, you need a Tuner monster." Yuri explained. "And in order to summon the Synchro monster you want, you need to match or exceed the level of the intended monster, with the level of the monsters used to summon it. Sort of like a combination of contact fusion, and ritual summoning."

"So we're gonna see a brand new monster?" Jaden sounded like he could hardly contain his excitement.

"Oh yeah!" Yuri replied. "Because I tribute both my monsters, to synchro summon Explosive Magician!"

Magic sigils appeared on the ground in a circle in front of Yuri, and a powerful looking spellcaster dressed in white robes, with gold trimming rose from the center of said circle. **Atk-2500 Def-1800**

"This is sweet!" Jaden could barely contain his excitement. "We get to duel a professional duelist, _and_ we get to see a brand new monster in action!"

"Sweet isn't the word I'd chose in this situation…" Cyrus supplied, though despite the fact he sounded nervous, on the inside he was just as excited as Jaden to see what this new monster could do.

"Now, the second part of my Apprentice Magician's effect activates. When he goes to the graveyard, I can search my deck for a level two or lower spellcaster, and summon them to the field." Yuri explained, his chosen card already in his hand. "And I know just who to bring out, Apprentice Magician, Mana in defense mode."

Yuri's new monster resembled a smaller, cuter version of Black Magician Girl. **Atk-600 Def-300**

"And with her on my field, her effect activates. I can add a card that has Black Magician in its name from my deck to my hand." Yuri smiled while selecting his newest card. "And I know just who to choose. But with that out of the way, it's time for my Explosive Magician's effect to kick off. I can remove two spell counters from anywhere on the field, to destroy one set card my opponent, or in this case, opponents control. And I think I'll blast your face down card Jaden."

Jaden winced, as Yuri's Explosive Magician destroyed his face down card. .

"Now, it's time to attack! Explosive Magician, attack Gyroid! Explosive Magical Burst!" Yuri's monster unleashed a torrent of magical energy at Cyrus' monster. Gyroid was engulfed by the attack, but when the smoke cleared Gyroid was still on the field, its helicopter blade spinning.

"Okay…" Yuri sounded confused at this result. "What just happened?"

"It's my Gyroid's special ability." There was a smile on Cyrus' face, as his monster's helicopter blades slowed to a halt. "He can survive a battle once per turn."

"Well… mark that down as something I didn't know." Yuri said while rubbing the back of his head. "I'll set a card face down, and end my turn. Your move Jaden."

"Hold on." Cyrus spoke up. "Since you attacked one of my roid monsters, I get to activate my trap card! It's a card known as Supercharge, and it allows me to draw two cards from my deck."

"Alright, well first I'll set another card face down, then I'll activate Polymarization." Jaden announced, setting the two cards into his duel disk. "This time I'll use it to fuse Elemental Hero's Avian and Burstinatrix, and summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

The two hero monsters were sucked into a vortex, and out of it emerged a new monster. Flame Wingman had a mostly green body, with a single white angelic wing on his left side, a red dragons tail, and his right hand had the head of a dragon instead of fingers. **Atk-2100 Def-1200**

"Sweet, that's one of Jaden's best monsters." There was a smile on Chumley's face.

"Yeah, but he doesn't have the attack points to deal with that Explosive Magician." Kai countered.

"Well that won't matter if Jaden has the card I think he does." Alexis said.

"And now I'll activate the field spell Skyscraper!" Jaden announced, placing the spell card into his duel disk. The playing field shifted into that of a bustling city at night, and Flame Wingman took into the air, only to land on top of the highest building in said city.

"Not bad." Yuri said, clearly impressed. "But nothing about my monsters attack points have changed."

"Maybe not." Jaden began. "But since your monster has a higher attack than mine, Flame Wingman's attack goes up by a whopping 1000!"

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman **Atk-3100**

"Now go Wingman!" Jaden ordered. "Attack Explosive Magician with Skydive Scorcher!"

Jaden's monster leapt from his perch atop the tallest building, and dove straight towards Explosive Magician.

"Looks like you forgot about my face down card Jaden." Yuri said smirking, while he revealed the card he'd played during his previous turn. "Go, Interdimensional Matter Transporter! This temporarily removes a monster from my field, like say Explosive Magician!"

"Which means, Wingman's attack is canceled out." Kai said. "He's really good."

"Kai, could you stop being such a fanboy for maybe five minutes?" Fujin asked with a note of irritation in her voice.

"But that's not all." Yuri smirked. "I have another monster for you to meet. And one of his effects allows me to summon him if I activate a trap during a specific part of my opponent's turn. Say hello to Magician of Black Illusions!"

Yuri's newest monster looked more of a shadow of the Black Magician than anything else. **Atk-2100 Def-2500**

"Weird…" Kai said, tapping his chin with his right index finger. "That kinda looks like the Black Magician…"

"That's because it is." Yumei said, causing everyone not dueling to look at her for an explaination. "Okay, first of all, you really need to pay more attention in Duel Monsters history class. Secondly, that monster, Palladium Oracle Mahad, and the Black Magician are all tied together. Magician of Black Illusions was Mahad's spirit monster. Mahad fused with it, thus giving up his life to create the Black Magician. It's also why the card version of Mahad can summon a Black Magician when he's destroyed."

"I'm glad _someone_ pays attention in my classes." Professor Banner said, having heard the duel going on outside. "Practice for the upcoming tag duel?"

"And so far, it's been pretty evenly matched." Yumei said, giving Banner's heavy set cat a few pats on the head.

"Well, guess that ends my turn." Jaden said, slightly disappointed he wasn't able to defeat Yuri's magician, but still excited nonetheless when it reappeared on his field.

Flame Wingman **Atk-2100**

"Guess it's my turn again." Yuri said. "And I'll tribute Apprentice Magician, Mana, and summon Apprentice Illusion Magician in attack mode." The small Black Magician Girl vanished, only to be replaced by a dark-skinned longer haired version of Black Magician Girl. **Atk-2000 Def-1700**

"Not so fast!" Cyrus announced, revealing his face down car. "I have a trap! Threatening Roar, now you're unable to attack this turn!"

"Not bad, well looks like that puts an end to my turn." Yuri said, before Cyrus drew his next card.

"He's improved since his duel with Jaden." There was a smile on Alexis' face.

"Maybe Jaden's duel with Zane last night sparked something." Yumei said. "Hopefully it'll be enough to win their upcoming tag duel."

"Okay, first I'll activate Pot of Greed." Cyrus began, sliding the spell card into his duel disk before taking a look at his two new cards. "Right, I summon Drillago in attack mode."

Yuri visibly winced, when Cyrus' new monster that had spiralled drills all over its body appeared on his field. **Atk-1600 Def-1100**

"Hey you alright?" Jaden asked, noting the uncomfortable look on Yuri's face.

"Yeah fine … just not really fond of that particular monster." Yuri replied, hearing the faint but distorted and psychotic laughter from another duelist who used the same monster in his head.

"Well then, you're really not gonna like his effect." Cyrus continued. "Since you have monsters with attack points above 1600, Drillago can attack you directly! Now go Drillago, attack!"

Yuri groaned, as one of Drillago's drills hit him square in the stomach.

 **Yuri-LP 2400**

"Look at that." Kai sounded impressed. "Cyrus drew first blood."

"Okay, now I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Cyrus announced, as a card appeared behind Gyroid, and Drillago.

"Okay, time to deal with that pesky monster of yours Cyrus." Yuri began, while his turn started. "Alright, so I'll start things off by playing the spell card Black Magic Circle. This card allows me to look at the top three cards of my deck in search of a Black Magician card. And if I find one, I'm allowed to add it to my hand."

"Looks like Yuri got what he wanted." Kai mused, as Yuri added one of the three cards to his hand.

"Yeah, but I wonder how many Black Magician cards he has in his deck." Alexis mused.

"Alright, now I'll use the second part of Black Magic Circle." Yuri announced. "If I have a Black Magician on the field, which Magician of Black Illusions is, I can remove a monster on the field from play."

"Well now Yuri has four targets to choose from." Alexis began. "It's a tough choice, because every one of them is a potential threat."

"Yeah." Fujin supplied. "Drillago can attack directly, Gyroid can survive one attack, Flame Wingman's attack goes up whenever he attacks thanks to Skyscraper, and Jaden can fuse Clayman with another Elemental Hero. I wouldn't know which monster to remove if I were in Yuri's shoes."

"Okay, say goodbye to Drillago." Yuri said, before Cyrus' monster vanished from the field.

"Now, Explosive Magician attack Flame Wingman! Explosive Magical Burst!" Yuri's spellcaster blasted the red and green hero away with a blast of magical energy, which made Jaden shield himself with his duel disk.

 **Jaden-LP 3600**

"Now my Magician attack Clayman. Illusionary Shockwave!" Magician of Black Illusions raised its staff, and blasted Clayman away.

"Good thing Clayman was in defense mode." Alexis said.

"But that won't save Jaden from Yuri's next monster." Kai countered.

"And now, Apprentice Illusion Magician attack directly!"

"Woah, not so fast!" Jaden said, revealing his face down card. "I have a trap! A Hero Emerges. You pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monster then I get to summon it to the field!"

"Alright then." Yuri began, as Jaden held up the three cards in his hand. "The card in the middle."

"Sweet, now say hello to Wroughtweiller! And I'll play him in defense mode!" **Atk-800 Def-1200**

"Well he won't be around long." Yuri said, as his monster destroyed the mechanical dog.

"Glad you did that, because when he's destroyed, I get to take an Elemental Hero, and a Polymarization from my graveyard." Jaden smiled, choosing Clayman like he had done last night with is duel with Zane.

"Alright, since it's my turn now, I'll play the card I just drew!" There was a smile on Jaden's face, as he revealed his newest card. "I play my own Pot of Greed, and it's fusion time! I'll use Polymarization again, and fuse Elemental Hero's Clayman and Sarkman and summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

"Lishus! With Thunder Giant on the field, Jaden can seriously level the playing field!" Chumley didn't bother to hide the smile on his face.

Elemental Hero Thunder Giant **Atk-2400 Def-1500**

"And thanks to his super power, he can destroy any monster with an attack less than his!" Jaden exclaimed. "So say goodbye to Magician of Black Illusions!"

Thunder Giant gathered an orb of electricity in his hands, and hurled it at Yuri's monster, which shattered in a cloud of pixels.

"And that was just his effect. He still has his attack, so I think he'll attack your Explosive Magician!"

"Smart thinking." Kai began. "Since Skyscraper is still on the field, Thunder Giant's attack goes up."

Elemental Hero Thunder Giant **Atk-3400**

"A good attempt Jaden, but not good enough." Yuri said, holding up Apprentice Illusion Magician's card. "I'll activate her effect, which let's me tribute her when my opponent attacks another spellcaster."

"Huh?" Jaden looked very confused. "But why?"

"Simple." Yuri answered. "Because when I do that, I can give another spellcaster a 2000 point boost in their attack."

"What what!?" Jaden asked, completely taken by surprise at this revelation.

Explosive Magician **Atk-4500**

"Now, Explosive Magician, Explosive Magical Burst!" Jaden's monster was blasted away by Yuri's counter attack.

 **Jaden-LP 2500**

"This isn't good." Alexis said worriedly. "Jaden has no more monsters on his field, and Yuri's turn is coming up."

"And with Explosive Magician's normal attack strength of 2500, Yuri can knock Jaden out of this duel right now." Fujin said frowning. "Unless Cyrus can help, Jaden' is in some serious trouble."

"Alright my draw." Yuri said, taking his next card off the top of his deck. "Alright, I think it's time to end this. I'll send my Arcane Barrier to the graveyard, and draw four new cards. Next I activate the spell card Cost Down! By sending a monster card from my hand to the graveyard, I can lower another monster's level. Now say hello to Dark Red Enchanter!"

The red robed, golden armored spellcaster that was Yuri's new monster made his way onto Yuri's field. **Atk-1700 Def-2200**

"And when he's summoned, he gets two spell counters placed on him. And for every spell counter, my monster gets a 300 point boost to his attack."

Dark Red Enchanter **Atk-2300**

"I think I know where this is going." Alexis said, remembering the finish of Yuri's duel with Zane the day before.

"Next I'll activate this, Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I can bring a monster back from my graveyard."

 **Yuri-LP 1800**

Dark Red Enchanter **Atk-2600**

"Yup, I know where this is going." Alexis said.

"How could you possibly know where this is going?" Yumei asked, giving the Obelisk girl a quizzical look.

"Yuri did this same combo against Zane yesterday." Alexis explained. "It's how he won."

"Alright you two, time to meet the monster I discarded with Cost Down. Rise, Darkblaze Dragon!"

Yuri's wicked serpent-looking dragon rose, to take its place next to Dark Red Enchanter **Atk-1200 Def-1000**

"And since he was special summoned, my dragon attack doubles!" Yuri's announcement made Cyrus and Jaden share a worried look.

Darkblaze Dragon **Atk-2400 Def-2000**

"Alright, now Explosive Magician attack Jaden directly! Explosive Magical burst!"

"Hold on!" Cyrus said, revealing his face down card. "Forget I had another face down? Well this one's gonna cost you Yuri, because it's Mirror Force!"

"Totally Lishious!" Chumley exclaimed. "Yuri's monsters are gonzo!"

"Yeah, with no cards face down, there's no way Yuri can counter this." Fujin added.

Yuri had to shield himself with his duel disk, as Explosive Magician's attack was redirected, and had blasted away all three of his monsters. "That was a good play Cyrus … and I don't have anything left in my hand to play."

"That means…" Alexis began.

"With the right card, Cyrus can win right now." Yumei finished.

"Okay…" Cyrus said shakily, as he drew his next card. However, his expression soon changed to one of excitement. "Alright! I summon Steamroid in attack mode!"

Steamroid looked like Gyroid, as it resembled a cartoonish looking vehicle. That of a steam engine, with its front wheels resembling fists. **Atk-1800 Def-1800**

"Looks like this duel is about ready to wrap up." Kai said, as a smile formed on his face.

"Steamroid, direct attack! Steam Striker!" Cyrus' monster charged at Yuri, hitting him with what looked like a shoulder strike.

 **Yuri-LP 0000**

The second the holograms had vanished, Jaden had Cyrus wrapped up in a tight hug. "Ya did it Cy!"

"I can't believe we did it." Cyrus sounded incredibly relieved.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Jaden asked. "That was all you. You saved my butt from elimination, and you scored the last attack."

"Jaden's right Cyrus." Yumei added. "You and Jaden may have teamed up for this duel, but that victory belongs to you."

"And if you guys perform that well in your tag duel, there's no way you two will get expelled." Yuri said, before shaking both of the Slifer's hands.


	16. Chapter 16

A few days later before dawn, two men in a row boat were very slowly making their way through the heavy fog, heading straight towards Duel Academy. One of the two men was in the back of the boat rowing, the other stood towards the front just staring ahead at Duel Academy. What's more, this particular man had a shocking resemblance to a certain heavy set Slifer Red student.

"Put your back into it." The man who could have only been Chumley's father said. "I want to reach Duel Academy by daybreak."

"Yes sir…" The other man replied in a strained tone of voice.

' _I won't have my son spend one more slacking day at that school. Chumley's coming home.'_

* * *

"Remind me again what we're doing?" Yumei asked with a yawn, as she stood outside the Obelisk Blue girls dorm. It was still very early, as the sun had barely risen. Fujin had, to Yumei's chagrin, woken her up and brought her here.

"Because you have a promotion match coming up soon." The Obelisk girl replied, crossing her arms. "And you need to practice, because your opponent is more likely than not, going to be another Obelisk."

"Is that why I'm here?" Sora asked, with a rather pronounced yawn. Sora's hair was slightly unkempt, because she like most people suffered from pillow hair. "Seriously, I was having lunch with Mai Wheeler when you woke me up…"

"Well would you rather help someone get into Obelisk, or go back to sleep?" Fujin asked, quickly pulling Sora back when the other Obelisk made to go back into their dorm. "Come on."

Sora sighed, placing her duel disk on her left arm. "Fine."

"Duel!"

 **Yumei-LP 4000**

 **Sora-LP 4000**

"So, I'll draw first." Sora began, though her voice was still groggy. "And I'll start things off with Harpie Lady One in attack mode."

Sora's familiar monster rose from her card and onto the Obelisk's side of the field. **Atk-1300 Def-1400**

"And let's not forget about her effect." Sora said. "This particular Harpie Lady raises the attack of all wind monsters by 300 points!"

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1600**

"Next I'll set a card face down." Sora said with a yawn, while inserting a cad into her duel disk. "And I'll end my turn there."

"Alright, my turn." Yumie assessed her next move, as she drew her sixth card. ' _Okay, Sora likes to build up her front row by easily summoning her Harpie monsters. Her combo of Harpie Lady One and Hunting Ground is going to end up being a real problem if she can get the more powerful Harpie monsters out. So I need to start by building an offensive wall of my own.'_ "Alright, I'll start things off with a new monster. The Eternal Flame Swordsman, in attack mode."

"Eternal?" Sora asked with another yawn.

"Yeah. It's a variant of the fusion, but I don't need to fusion summon him." Yumei explained as her new monster appeared on her field. **Atk-1800 Def-1600**

"And a little backup never hurts either." Yumei continued, while inserting another card into her duel disk. "So I'll give my swordsman a boost with the continuous spell card; The A. Forces! Now my monsters get a 200 point boost to their attack."

Eternal Flame Swordsman **Atk-2000**

"Alright, Flame Swordsman, clip that birds wings!" Yumei ordered, and her monster sliced Harpie Lady #1 in half at the waist, before the monster shattered in a cloud of pixels.

 **Sora-LP 3600**

"Not bad, but…" Sora paused to yawn yet again. "Not good enough. Remember my facedown card? Well, now I get to activate it. And I think you'll remember it from my duel with your brother. Hysteric Party! Now by sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I'm allowed to special summon as many Harpie monsters as I want from my graveyard. So not only is my first Harpie Lady coming back, but so is the monster that I discarded. My Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1300 Def-1400**

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-1800 Def-1400**

"And don't forget about my first Harpie's effect. She raises all Wind attribute monsters attack by 300!"

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1600**

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-2100**

"Now I draw." Sora smiled, as she got a look at her new card. "And I'll summon the monster Birdface in attack mode." Sora's new monster was a humanoid bird, with a blue colored chestplate, and wings where its arms should be. **Atk-1600 Def-1600**

"Alright, now it's time to cut your monster down to size. Cyber Harpie, attack that Flame Swordsman!" Sora's strongest Harpie slashed Yumei's swordsman across the chest with her talons, before the warrior shattered.

 **Yumei-LP 3900**

"You know, with how much hype that's surrounding you, I'm kind of disappointed. No other monsters on your field, and no cards face down. You're wide open for a direct attack." There was a disappointed smile on Sora's face.

"No I'm not." Yumei countered, then proceeded to explain due to the confused look on Sora's face. "See when Eternal Flame Swordsman is destroyed, I can take another level 4 warrior monster from anywhere in my hand, deck, or extra deck, and summon it to the field. Provided that monster is a Fire attribute monster. So say hello to the original Flame Swordsman!"

Flame Swordsman **Atk-1800 Def-1600**

"And don't forget about my A Forces spell card." Yumei continued. "My swordsman gets an additional 200 attack points!"

Flame Swordsman **Atk-2400**

"You were saying something about being disappointed?" Yumei asked rather smugly.

"Clever." Sora's disappointed smile changed into a rather impressed one instead. "Well, I suppose that's the end of my turn."

"Right then, my draw." Yumei couldn't hide her smile as she saw her next card. "Okay, I'll play my Pot of Greed, and with two more cards in my hand let's see how you handle this. I summon my Command Knight in attack mode."

Command Knight **Atk-1200 Def-1900**

"And with her on the field, you can't attack any other monster but her, and she gives every warrior monster on my field an extra 400 point boost. Oh, make that 600 points in her case due to the A Forces effect."

Command Knight **Atk-1800**

Flame Swordsman **Atk-2400**

"But I'm not done there." Yumei said, inserting another card into her duel disk. "The equip card Rare Gold Armor. See when I play this, you can't attack any other monster but the one this card it's equipped to. And I think I'll equip it to my Flame Swordsman."

"Wait, that means…" Sora said, beginning to realize what Yumei had just done.

"You can't touch my monsters." Yumei finished.

"Smart move." Fujin smiled, clearly impressed as she thought Yumei's deck was a simple beatdown-style deck, and was happy to be proven wrong.

"Okay, now let's see how that Cyber Harpie stands up to my Flame Swordsman! Attack!" Yumei ordered her monster, and the warrior gave Cyber Harpie Lady the same treatment Eternal Flame Swordsman had given Harpie Lady #1.

 **Sora-LP 3300**

"Okay, now Command Knight take down that overgrown bird!" Command Knight rushed Birdface, and ran the avian monster through with her sword.

 **Sora-LP 3100**

"And with another facedown, that brings an end to my turn." Yumei said, as a card appeared beside the active A. Forces card.

"Okay, well before I draw, I'll activate Birdface's effect." Sora began, while searching through her deck. "See, when you destroyed my monster his effect activates, which allows me to add a Harpie Lady card from my deck to my hand. Of course, it has to be a monster card. Oh, but speaking of my Harpie Ladies, guess who's coming back?"

"Cyber Harpie?" Yumei asked, really trying to not roll her eyes.

"Give the girl a prize." Sora smiled, choosing her new card, while her Cyber Harpie reappeared, and thanks to Harpie Lady #1, her attack went up.

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-2100**

"Okay now, I'll summon the original Harpie Lady in attack Mode." The sleepy Obelisk said, placing her new card on her duel disk. **Atk-1300 Def-1400** "And don't forget, thanks to Harpie Lady One, her attack goes up."

Harpie Lady **Atk-1600**

"And now, I think I'll activate another spell card. Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!" There was a major smirk on Sora's face as she activated her spell card.

"That's not good." Fujin said, wishing she'd brought some popcorn as this duel was getting very interesting.

"Let me tell you how it works." Sora began. "See, for every Harpie Lady I control, I can destroy one monster on your field. Then you'll take damage equal to the original attack of your strongest monster. And since I have three Harpie Ladies…"

"Wrong." Yumei countered. "I only count one Harpie Lady."

"One?" Sora was clearly confused. "I think you need to get your eyes checked."

"No, I only count one." Yumei said, smirking as she knew something Sora didn't. "See, I know when Hysteric Party is destroyed, all special summoned Harpie monsters are destroyed. So, I activate my face down card! Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Sora gasped. "But that means!"

"When I destroy Hysteric Party, you lose two of your monsters!" Yumei's smirk widened. Sure she was still going to lose one of her monsters, and take damage. However, it was worth it since she wasn't going to leave herself open to attack.

Sora covered her face with her duel disk as a large gust of wind destroyed her card, and her Harpie Monsters. "That's fine, because I still have one Harpie Lady on my field. So, say goodbye to your Flame Swordsman!"

Yumei winced, as her swordsman was blasted away.

 **Yumei-LP 2100**

"But since I can't do special summon the turn I activate Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation, I'll end my turn with a face down." Sora said, inserting a card into her duel disk as her turn ended.

"Alright, my draw." Yumei began, however Sora cut her off.

"Not just yet." The rather sleepy Obelisk girl announced, revealing her face down card. "I have a trap, and it's a rather familiar one! Hysteric Party!"

Yumei rolled her eyes at Sora's trap card. "Oh great, that's back…"

"That's right, and so are my Harpies!" Sora smirked, discarding a card as her two previously destroyed monsters to come back to the field.

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1600**

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-2100**

Harpie Lady **Atk-1600**

"Okay, well looks like I'll have to get rid of that card again." Yumei sighed, drawing her next card. She sighed, setting it into her duel disk. "I set a card face down, and end my turn."

"That it?" Sora asked, drawing her next card. "That's a little disappointing. Oh well, I suppose I'll just attack your Command Knight with my Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Yumei smirked. "Gotcha."

"Wait what?" Sora sounded confused.

Yumei's smirk widened. "I gotcha. You fell right into my trap. Or more specifically, my trap card Defense Draw! My monster isn't destroyed, I don't take any battle damage, _and_ I get to draw a card."

"Well, then I guess it's your turn." Sora conceded, as her Cyber Harpie came back to her side of the field.

' _Okay Yumei think. You need to find a way to deal with these Harpies. I either need to destroy her back row, or find a way to blast her front row.'_ Things then clicked for the Ra, realizing she had just the cards to make either option happen. ' _Alright, let's just keep up the poker face.'_

"Oh come on…" Yumei made it sound like her next draw was rather disappointing.

"Uh oh." Sora couldn't keep the smugness out of her tone. "Bad draw?"

"Yeah…" Yumei huffed, hoping her bluff would work. "Ugh, for now I'll set this face down…"

"Okay, well I'm not taking any chances this time." Sora said taking a card from her hand. "I activate the field spell Harpie's Hunting Ground!"

"Uh-oh…"

"Oh yes." Sora smiled, while placing the card onto the field spell portion of her duel disk. "Now all my Harpies get an additional 200 attack points, and whenever I summon a Harpie Moster, I'm able to destroy one set spell or trap card on your field."

Harpie Lady #1 **Atk-1800**

Harpie Lady **Atk-1800**

Cyber Harpie Lady **Atk-2300**

"Now with that out of the way, I summon Harpie Lady Two." Sora announced while placing the monster card onto her duel disk.

Harpie Lady #2 **Atk-1300 Def-1400**

"And thanks to my Harpie's effect, _and_ the effect of Harpie's Hunting Ground, her attack goes up!"

Harpie Lady #2 **Atk-1800**

"Oh! And my Hunting Ground's effect activates, allowing me to destroy that face down card you had. I hope it wasn't anything you desperately needed."

"Actually it was…" Yumei sighed, before her look of defeat turned into one of triumph.

Sora paused. A puzzled look spreading across her face. "Okay, what's with that look?"

"It's because of my face down card." Yumei said, revealing her trap. "Blast With Chain!"

"Oh no!" Sora's confused look soon changed to one of horror.

"Oh yeah! See when I activate Blast With Chain, it becomes an equip card, and gives the monster an additional 500 attack points. So I'll equip it to my Command Knight."

Command Knight **Atk-2300**

"But since you're destroying it, the second effect activates." Yumei's look of triumph grew. "See, when it's destroyed, I can destroy one card on your field … like Hysteric Party!"

"No!" Sora shielded her face with her arms, as her trap card and the majority of her Harpies were destroyed. And without her Harpie Lady #1, her remaining Harpie's lost the 300 point boost to their attack.

Harpie Lady #2 **Atk-1500**

Harpie Lady **Atk-1500**

"And with that, I guess it's my turn! Draw! Alright, I'll play Card of Demise." Yumei took the top 5 cards from her deck. "I'm allowed to draw five cards from my deck, but I have to discard my entire hand after five turns pass. So first, I'll activate Double Summon. This allows me to normal summon twice this turn. So I'd like you to meet my Queen's and King's Knight!"

A pair of regal looking warrior monsters appeared on Yumei's field, when both monster cards were placed on her duel disk.

Queen's Knight **Atk-1500 Def-1600**

King's Knight **Atk-1500 Def-1400**

"And when they're on my field, that allows me to special summon my Jack's Knight!"

The youngest of the three royal knights appeared on Yumei's field. **Atk-1900 Def-1000**

"Oh, and my thanks to my two cards, they get a boost to their attack." Yumei explained further, as her monster's strength grew.

Queen's Knight **Atk-2100**

King's Knight **Atk-2100**

Jack's Knight **Atk-2500**

"Did you teach her that?" Sora shot an accusing look towards Fujin.

"Hey, don't look at me." Fujin responded slightly holding her hands up.

"Excuse me." Yumei cut in. "Can we get back to the duel? Because now I activate the spell card Polymarization. And I'll fuse my three royal knights together!"

"No way…" Sora's eyes were wide.

"I didn't see that coming." Fujin remarked, both surprised and impressed.

"Now meet my new monster! Arcana Knight Joker!"

"...Hey what's going on?" A sleepy voice asked. Who turned out to be Alexis.

"Practice match." Fujin explained, motioning to the duel in progress as Alexis walked groggily up to her.

Alexis yawned widely. "That explains a… lot…" Her words fell flat when she saw Yumei's monster.

Arcana Knight Joker **Atk-3800 Def-2500**

Alexis let out another yawn, before speaking. "Well, things aren't looking good for Sora."

"Oh, and let's not forget about Command Knight and my A. Forces card effects."

Arcana Knight Joker **Atk-4400**

"I take it back." Alexis said, with a small albeit sleepy laugh. "Things just got worse for her."

"Alright, now my Arcana Knight Joker attack's Harpie Lady!" Yumei's knight, raised his blade with both hands, and split bifurcated Sora's monster, which promptly shattered into pixlels seconds later.

 **Sora-LP 2900**

"Now I'll have my Command Knight lay waste to Harpie Lady Two!" Command Knight rushed forward, stabbing Harpie Lady #2 with her sword.

 **Sora-LP 2600**

"I know to never count Sora out." Alexis began. "But she's in a really tight spot here. She's got no monsters on her field, and even if she did…"

"She couldn't attack Yumei's Command Knight, because of her effect." Fujin finished. "Still, you said it yourself. Don't count Sora out of this duel yet."

"Alright then, my draw." Sora then smirked. "Okay, well lets see how you handle this. I'll set a card face down, then I'll remove Birdface to the out of play zone, and summon my new monster. Harpie Lady With Rose Whip~"

Sora's new monster resembled the Cyber Harpie Lady, the exception being the deadly looking whip in the monsters right claw. **Atk-2100 Def-1800**

"And let's not forget about the attack boost my Hunting Ground gives my monster~" Sora continued, a sing-song tone in her voice.

Harpie Lady With Rose Whip **Atk-2300**

"Okay…" Yumei began with a confused tone in her voice. "But you still don't have the attack strength to beat my Joker. And my Command Knight can't be attacked because Joker is still on the field."

"Not for much longer~" Sora still had that sing-song note in her voice, which only added to Yumei's confusion. "I play the spell card De-Fusion~"

"That's not good…" Alexis said, covering her mouth as she had let out a yawn seconds later. "Now Sora can split Yumei's monster back into its original fusion material.

"Well then why doesn't Yumei seem worried?" Fujin asked.

Sure enough, Yumei did not look worried. In fact, it looked as though she was starting to smile. "Sorry Sora, but I know something you don't."

"...and that is?" Sora no longer had that sing-song not in her voice.

"That would be, once per turn, if my Joker is targeted for destruction by a magic, trap, or monster effect, I can discard a card corresponding to whatever is attempting to destroy my monster, and negate that cards activation." Yumei explained, a look of triumph spreading across the Ra student's face. "And since your De-Fusion spell card technically does destroy my Joker, all I have to do is get rid of one of my spell cards, and no more De-Fusion for you!"

"Hope Sora has a Plan B." Alexis said, while Yumei discarded a spell card from her hand, and set into the graveyard slot in her duel disk.

Sora sighed in defeat. Her entire plan revolved around her De-Fusion card. "I … have to end my turn."

"That would be a 'no'." Fujin supplied, as Yumei's turn began.

"Okay, here we go! Draw!" Yumei sighed, and shook her head when she saw her next card. "Sorry Sora, but it's over. I activate the spell card Fissure!"

"But that!" Sora gasped.

"Destroys the weakest monster on your field." Yumei finished. "And since there's only one monster on your field, guess what happens?"

The ground beneath Sora's Harpie Lady opened up, and the monster fell into the chasm below, before vanishing and leaving Sora completely defenseless.

"Now, Arcana Knight Joker! Direct attack!" At Yumei's order, Arcana Knight Joker raised its blade, and brought it down with a heavy two handed strike in front of Sora, reducing her life points to nothing.

 **Sora-LP 0000**

"Not bad!" Fujin said, clapping her hands together. "You perform like that during your promotion duel, you'll be a Blue in no time!"

"That's all well and good." Sora yawned. "But can I go back to sleep now?"

* * *

Far later, and when it was moe appropriate for the students of Duel Academy to be active, Jaden found himself relaxing under a tree close to the main building. "Ah, this is the life. Green grass, warm sun. My own private…"

"JADEN!"

"Huh?" Jaden sat up, his attention now fixed on Cyrus, who was sprinting towards the Slifer. "Okay, maybe not so private…"

"Jaden…" Cyrus panted, when he finally caught up to his friend. "Something terrible's happened."

"Trap test?" Jaden asked sitting back up. "Let me guess, you flunked?"

"Actually, I got a B." Cyrus sounded rather proud of himself. However, that wasn't why Cyrus was searching for Jaden. "But that's not why I came here Jaden! Chumley's dad just showed up!"

"So what? He raid our fridge?"

Cyrus shook his head. "No Jaden! He came to make Chumley drop out!"

"What!? Not our buddy!" Jaden suddenly got to his feet, and made for the Slifer Red dorms, unaware that Yuki had exited the main building at that exact moment, and decided to follow his friends.

* * *

"No way, that's chumley's dad?" Jaden asked completely slack-jawed. The three boys were looking inside of Professor Banner's office, having explained the entire situation to Yuki on the way to the Slifer Dorms. The man sitting across from Professor Banner had a face and nose similar to his son, but with a far more muscular body.

"He looks like a body builder." Yuki commented. "But carrying Chumley around, I'd guess you'd have to be."

The three boys then quieted down, having heard Mr. Huffington speaking. "Now don't get me wrong, if Chumley was any good at dueling it'd be one thing. But he's clearly not. He's wasting his time here, and it's time for him to give up dueling and come home."

"I see your point. Chumley is…" Professor Banner began to chuckle in a nervous tone, as given the size of Mr. Huffington, he'd rather not say anything insulting.

"He's a bit dense, you can say it. That's why I want him to come home, and join the family business." Mr. Huffington slammed his large fist on the table that separated the two men. "The hot sauce business." He paused for a moment to stare at Professor Banner. "You like hot sauce right?"

"Oh yes, I love it. I can't get enough of it." There was a nervous tone in Banner's voice, as he wanted to get on the man's good side.

"Loud and clear. Here!" Mr. Huffington placed a large bottle that was clearly a bottle of hot sauce. "Free sample."

Professor Banner tried his best to politely to refuse. "Oh no, I really couldn't."

"Oh yes you could." Mr. Huffington said, giving Banner an intense stare.

"So he's really dropping?" Cyrus' voice began to break, not wanting to lose his friend.

"Not if we can help it!" Jaden began to make for the second floor of the Slifer dorms. "Come on, we've gotta talk some sense into him!" The three boys then made for the room that Jaden and Cyrus shared with Chumley.

"Chumley." Jaden called out when he swung his dorm room open. When the three boys entered, they saw Chumley packing his belongings into his backpack. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Chumley asked harshly.

"It looks like you're giving up. Like you're taking everything you worked for, and throwing it all away. Like you're abandoning all your dueling dreams and goals, and you don't even care!" Jaden grabbed Chumley's shoulder, and all three boys got a shock when they saw that tears were streaming down Chumley's cheeks. "Chumley…?"

"He does care." Syrus and Yuki said in unison.

"No! I just got something in my eyes! Both of 'em! Now just leave me alone would ya?" Chumley made an attempt to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. "I mean, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyhow. At least according to my dad I'm not. But he doesn't know, I really could be a champion duelist. Because I've got a special power I haven't told anybody. Sometimes Duel Monster cards talk to me."

"You talk to…" A smile broke out over Yuki's face as Neo appeared by the Obelisk boy's side. "Then you're just like us. Did you tell your dad this Chumley?"

Chumley shook his head. "Of course not. Everything to him is hot sauce, hot sauce, hot sauce."

"Alright, come on buddy!" Yuki grabbed Chumley's arm, and dragged the heavier boy out of his dorm room, Jaden and Cyrus following behind.

* * *

The four boys had gone straight to Chancellor Sheppard's office. Mr. Huffington and Professor Banner not far behind the four, having seen them leaving the Slifer Dorm, and had decided to hear the boys out.

"Chumley has a gift." Yuki explained. "He can't drop out."

"Oh, he's got a gift alright." Mr. Huffington piped up. "A gift for eating grilled cheese."

Yuki glared daggers at Mr. Huffington, nearly activating the power of the ring around his neck.

"Look I know Chumley." Jaden spoke up, placing a hand on Yuki's shoulder to calm his friend down. "He's my roomate, not to mention his pal."

"Yeah, uh… me too." Cyrus added.

"Make that three of us." Yuki said, after taking a breath to calm himself. No need to call on Mahad's power for a family matter, he probably knew very little about.

"Look boys." Sheppard began, a little shocked at all this, especially seeing Yuki there for the second time today. "I respect you for sticking up for your friend. However I'm afraid this is a family matter, this really isn't any of your business."

"That's right." Mr. Huffington said. "It's a family matter."

"But sir…" Jaden made to plead his case, however Mr. Huffington cut across the Slifer boy.

"Which is why I propose a duel."

"Huh?" All four boys said at the same time.

"That's right, father versus son." A smile began to form on Mr. Huffington's face. "If Chumley has this special gift you say he does, he should be able to beat me easily. If he does, I'll let him stay at the academy. But if he can't then Chumley comes home and joins the family business.

Chumley's look of shock changed to one of determination. "You're on dad!"

"So be it!" Chancellor Sheppard clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow morning it will be decided if Chumley stays, or goes home!"

* * *

"Haha, see guys? What did I tell ya?" There was a big smile on Jaden's face as he spoke. The four boys were exiting the main building accompanied by Professor Banner. "It was a piece of cake to convince Chumley's dad to let him stay!"

"Jaden, we just convinced him to a duel…" Cyrus shook his head, pointing this little fact out. "He still has to win, if he wants to stay."

Jaden shrugged. "Yeah, but come on. Chumley's dad is an ammeture, he doesn't know how to duel. Am I right?"

"I'm not so sure about that Jaden…" Yuki frowned, not sharing his friend's sentiment. "We don't know anything about Mr. Huffington, except he's a bit of a jerk and he's a hot sauce tycoon. That aside, the guy could be an expert duelist."

"Nah, I bet he's been thinking about hot sauce so much, it's coming out of his ears!" Jaden laughed.

At that, Professor Banner cleared his throat. "Actually, he's been state duel champion three years in a row." Yuki then gave his friend an 'I told you so' look. "Why do you think Mr. Huffington was so insistent on his son attending this school? Just wait until you see his deck. As you all know, he makes a living with his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of his sauce. It can take you out in one turn, like a spicy buffalo wing takes you out in one bite. And all the morning after."

"Looks like we're gonna have to get Chumley's deck ready for tomorrow." Yuki once again shot Jaden an 'I told you so' look, before heading towards the Obelisk Blue dorms. "I'll meet up with you guys in a bit, I'm gonna go grab my spare cards."

* * *

"Yuki?" Kai had poked his head into the doorway of Yuki's room. "What are you up to?"

"Looking for-oh nevermind." Yuki had dug out his case of spare cards from under his large bed.

"Doing some deck editing?" Kai had entered his friend's room, and was now staring at his case over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but it's not for me." Yuki then explained the entire situation to Kai, including his irritation towards Mr. Huffington.

Kai took a deep breath after Yuki finished his explaination. "You and family matters…"

Yuki found himself laughing at that. "Am I cursed or something?"

"You might be." Kai laughed, clapping Yuki on the shoulder. "So, how do I help?"

"Grab your spare cards, and meet me at the Slifer dorm."

* * *

"Chumley what is with all your cards?" Kai was looking through the heavy set Slifer's deck when he posed his question. The five boys had taken to using Yuki's old room in the Slifer dorm. It had been empty since both twins had switched dorms. "They're all koala monsters…"

"Duh! Koala's are my favorite." Chumley snapped.

"We don't have a lot of room to talk Kai." Yuki interjected. "You and I both use dragons."

"Fair point." Kai looked through his case of spare cards, until he found some that Chumley could make use of. "Here, use these. Invigoration may lower your monsters defense, but the equipped monster will get a buff to its attack. And Giant Rat will yet you search out for another monster. Perfect for your earth attribute deck."

Chumley looked like he was about to cry, with such generosity coming from an Obelisk.

"And try this out." Cyrus handed Chumley a card with a picture of a kangaroo with green colored boxing gloves. "I got this a while back, but never could put it to good use. Maybe you could."

"Cy, really…?" Tears were forming in Chumley's eyes.

"Yeah, if you join it with your koala's, it'll be the take down from down under."

Yuki grabbed a card from his case of spares, and handed it to his friend. "Here, use this too."

"Poison Fangs?" Chumley's voice was definately breaking. "Yuki are you serious?"

"Yeah, I can't run it in either of my decks, plus it fits better with your beast deck."

"Hey, I got something for you too. It could really come in handy." Jaden said, handing the card in question to Chumley.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the five boys, Mr. Huffington was listening in on their conversation. While having dinner with Professor Banner consisting of hot sauce, Mr. Huffington had slipped out under the guise of needing to use the bathroom, and was now eavesdropping in on the exchange between his son and his friends, since the door to the unused dorm room was still open.

* * *

The next morning, the two Obelisks and two Slifer boys had joined Professor Banner in a training room of the Slifer dorms which looked remarkably like a martial arts dojo.

"Alright. Chumley, Mr. Huffington, you both know the stakes for this match." Professor Banner clapped his hands together. "If Chumley wins, he gets to stay at school. However if he looses, then he must go back home."

Mr. Huffington had a smile on his face. "That's right, or my hot sauce won't chap your lips!"

Banner turned to face his student. "Chumley, you're sure you're okay with this? Going back to work for your father's hot sauce company? Chapped lips."

"I can handle anything right now." Chumley's beady eyes were narrowed.

"Right. Well without further ado gentlemen." Banner began, glapping his hands together once again. "Let the duel begin!"

"Alright!" Chumley had a detirmined look on his face, as he activated his duel disk.

"Its go time." Mr. Huffington did the same.

"DUEL!"

 **Chumley LP-4000**

 **Mr. Huffington LP-4000**

"Alright dad, here I come." Chumley announced, drawing a card. "Toatlly licious. Alright, I'll play a monster in defense mode."

"Defense mode huh?" Mr. Huffington gave a slow nod, it was a decent opening move. But it was one every ammeture duelist started out with. "Alright, here I come son. I play Dizzy Tiger in attack mode!"

A humanoid tiger wearing a wife beater, khaki pants, sunglasses, and holding a bottle of hot sauce in one paw appeared on Mr. Huffington's field. **Atk-1800**

Everyone was obviously confused about Mr. Huffington's choice of monster, especially Chumley. "A dizzy … tiger?"

"Weird." Jaden commented.

"So … why is he dizzy?" Cyrus asked.

"My guess." Yuki began. "Too much hot sauce. Still it doesn't mean that tiger doesn't have a nasty bite."

"Dizzy Tiger, attack! Hot sauce slash!" The humanoid tiger leapt forward, and sunk its claws into Chumley's face down monster, which turned out to be Giant Rat. the monster that Kai had given to him the previous night. "Giant Rat?"

"That's right, and now that he's gone." Chumley sounded rather excited at this news. "I can bring out an Earth monster with less than 1500 attack points! So I summon Des Koala in attack mode!"

Chumley's monster was a big white furred koala, with leaves in its mouth and belly pouch. **Atk-1100**

"And it's my turn again, so I summon another Des Koala in attack mode." A second large white furred koala appeared next to the first. **Atk-1100**

Mr. Huffington frowned, as he instantly saw the mistake his son had made. "Attack mode? Didn't you know that if you played him in defense mode, and then flipped him up, it would have cost me 400 points of damage for each card in my hand?"

"Duh, of course I know that … at least now I do."

"Well it's too late now son." Mr. Huffington said, while drawing his next card. "Dizzy Tiger attack the first Des Koala! Hot sauce slash!" The humanoid tiger leapt forward, slashing at Chumley's koala, and leaving a red mist in the air that had an incredibly strong and distinct smell.

"Ugh, that's hot sauce alright…" Chumley groaned, plugging his nose.

 **Chumley LP-3300**

Jaden groaned, plugging his nose just like Chumley was doing. "Oh boy, that stinks."

"But his attack sure didn't…" Cyrus groaned, mirroring his two friends.

Mr. Huffington let out a booming laugh, once his battle phase ended. "Hahahahaha! At this rate, we'll be home before dinner … which will be hot sauce!"

"I'll tell you what you can do with your hot sauce!" Chumley snapped at his father.

"Hey, keep your cool Chumley!" Kai shouted.

"It's good that he's standing up for himself though." Yuki spoke up, and recieved a stern look from Mr. Huffington, which he returned with an icy glare.

"Watch your tone boy." Mr. Huffington growled. "Like your teacher said, I've been state duel champion three-"

"And I've beaten Seto Kaiba." Yuki cut across, holding up his duel disk. "If you want a piece of me, I'll be happy to step in and mop the floor with you."

"It's alright Yuki. I got this." Chumley drew his next card as he spoke. "Licious. Alright, I'll play the spell card Koala March. With it, I can summon a koala monster from my graveyard as long as its level four or below."

Chumley's first Des Koala appeared on his field, where it had been before Dizzy Tiger had attacked. **Atk-1100**

"Next, I'll sacrifice both koalas, to summon Big Koala!" Both of Chummley's koala monsters vanished, and a large blue furred koala with no leaves in its mouth or belly pouch took their place. **Atk 2700**

"Not bad." Mr. Huffington commented.

"No duh not bad! Now Big Koala attack Dizzy Tiger!" The large koala picked up Dizzy Tiger, and tossed it across the room, where it shattered in a pixelated cloud upon hitting the opposite wall.

 **Mr. Huffington LP-3100**

"And Dizzy Tiger's gonzo." Chummley smirked.

"That's our boy!" Yuki, Jaden, and Cyrus all cheered.

"So you wanna fight? Alright, let's fight!" Mr. Huffington drew a card. "Alright, I call Dizzy Angel to the field!" This new monster was indeed an angelic-like creature, wearing a white suit and pants, with dark glasses, and holding a hot sauce bottle in his hands. And just like Dizzy Tiger, he didn't seem to be able to stand up straight. **Atk-1800**

"Ugh, he reeks of hot sauce too." Chumley plugged his nose again. "And from the looks of it, I'd say he's had way too much." Chumley then heard a sound coming from the angel. ' _Woah, there it is. I'm hearing those voices again!'_

"Now I'll activate the spell card Hot Sauce Bottle!" A large bottle of hot sauce appeared behind Dizzy Angel. "And then, I'll activate another spell card, Flipping The Table!" The field between father and son changed to a large low-legged table which Mr. Huffington then flipped. Both monsters were then sent flying into the air, and were destroyed upon hitting the table after coming back down. "What a card! It destroys everything on my field, except itself that is. And then the same number of cards I destroyed, are also destroyed on your field, leaving you defenseless!"

"That's gotta be his special two turn attack." Cyrus commented.

"Tch, that's just like you." Chumley growled. "You don't like something, so you trash it."

"I didn't get to become a hot sauce tycoon by acting nice son." Mr. Huffington replied as Dizzy Angel came back to his field.

"Okay? Why is he back?" Kai was clearly confused. "Wasn't he destroyed by Flipping The Table?"

"Wishful thinking!" Mr. Huffington laughed. "But Dizzy Angel can't be destroyed by Flipping The Table! Oh! And there's something else! Since Hot Sauce Bottle was destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!"

 **Chumley LP-2800**

"But I'm not done yet! Dizzy Angel attacks you directly!" The drunken angel then whacked Chumley over the head with the hot sauce bottle in his hand.

 **Chumley LP 1000**

' _Don't worry son, this'll be over soon.'_ "Make your move son!" Mr Hufington said ending his turn.

"Make sure you think this through Chumley." Professor Banner said. "Otherwise you'll be back home, bottling hot sauce."

"Duh! I know that!" Chumley said, a hint of worry in his voice. "Alright, I'll pay Pot of Greed!" Chumley announced, drawing two cards from his deck … which turned out to be the two cards that Yuki and Cyrus had given to him the night before.

"Okay, first I'll activate Silent Doom. With it, I can summon one monster back from the graveyard, and I chose Big Koala!" ' _He won't kick me out without a fight!'_ Chumley thought, while his Big Koala appeared back on his field in defense mode. **Def-2000**

"Next, I'll activate the spell card Poison Fangs! The continuous spell card that Chumley had gotten from Yuki appeared behind Big Koala. And now I'll activate Polymarization, and fuse Big Koala and the Des Kangaroo in my hand … and summon Master of Oz!"

Chumley's new fusion monster had the body of a large kangaroo with green colored boxing gloves, but had a koala-like face. **Atk-4200**

' _Like I didn't see that coming'_ Mr. Huffington thought, while he remembered what he had heard while spying on Chumley and his friends. However, a smile appeared on his face, as he realized just how much Chumley's friends cared about him. Especially if one of them was willing to stand up to him the way Yuki was.

"But I'm not done there! I activate the spell card Invigoration! Now Oz gets a 500 point boost to his attack!"

Master of Oz **Atk-4700**

"Now go Oz! Outback Attack!" Chumley's monster reared its right fist back, and hit Dizzy Angel so hard he exploded in a large shower of pixles.

 **Mr. Huffington LP-500**

"And there's more! Thanks to Poison Fangs, you take an additional 500 damage since you were attacked by a beast type monster!"

 **Mr. Huffington LP-0000**

The four boys all rushed, and tackled their friend in a many armed hug as the duel came to an end in Chumley's favor.


	17. Chapter 17

This was it. The day of Jaden and Cyrus' judgement duel. It was something that both excited and infuriated Dr. Crowler, while he paced through the halls of the main building. He was grinding his teeth while glaring at all the Slifer students he was passing.

' _Just look at them! Pathetic slackers littering the campus like vermin! The halls of Duel Academy are for the elite! Not the lame, and especially not Jaden Yuki!'_ Crowler thought angrily "He's made a fool of me for long enough!" Dr. Crowler's outburst mad every Slifer in the hall he was in, run in the opposite direction. "But soon, he will be the one looking like a fool!"

"Dr. Crowler."

Crowler turned to see a familiar Obelisk walking towards him. "Ahh Chazz, what can I do for you?"

"You can put me in the elimination duel between Jaden and Cyrus." Chazz replied. "This time I know I can win, and send them packing."

"Sorry Chazz, but you'll be sitting this one out. Don't get me wrong, your skills are admirable, but I am leaving nothing to chance. If Jaden loses, he'll be expelled! Which is why I've hired the best tag duelists in the world!"

* * *

At the Slifer dorm, both Jaden and Cyrus were going over their decks, while Chumley watched from his bed. "How can you be so calm?"

"Because it's just another duel. Right Cy?" Jaden asked, even though Cyrus was silent.

"But it's not." Chumley countered. "If you lose, you'll be on the next bus out of here."

"Bus, Chumley? We're on an island." Jaden really had to fight to keep from laughing.

"Well, you guys should give me your meal cards just in case." Chumley said.

Jaden shook his head, even though he was smiling. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Hey, someone's gotta eat your grilled cheeses if you go." Chumley laughed, getting down from his bed. All the while Cyrus had remained silent, just staring at his Power Bond card.

"Come on Cy, let's get going." Jaden got to his feet a few moments later. "We got a duel to win!"

"Good luck guys." Chumley hugged his two friends, before Jaden and Cyrus made for the door. "I really want you to win."

"Even more than extra grilled cheese?" Jaden asked teasingly.

"I'd rather have you guys here than the grilled cheese." Chumley admitted.

Jaden smiled, opening the door to their dorm. "I think I might cry."

"Well, see you soon." Cyrus said, as the two left for the main building.

"I hope so." Chumley sounded incredibly worried.

* * *

People were beginning to file into the main dueling arena, including all three Hyoudou siblings. Yuri had decided to stay at the academy until after Yumei's promotion match. His exact words being: "I'm not missing the chance to watch my baby sister become an Obelisk."

"I hope they can make it through this…" Yumei sounded rather nervous, as she took her seat.

"They'll be fine." Yuri assured his younger sister. "They were good enough to beat me."

"Yeah, but that was a one on two match." Yumei countered. "Dr. Crowler has hand picked opponents for the two, and with his hatred of Slifer students, you know whoever he picked isn't going to be any pushover."

"Well, unless Dr. Crowler hired Yugi and Joey." Yuki gave his twin sister's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm pretty sure Jaden and Cyrus will pull through."

"I don't think it's Jaden you need to worry about." Bastion said, from the row of seats behind the three siblings. "Cyrus on the other hand…"

"Neither of them would be in this position if it wasn't for me…" Alexis sighed, taking a seat next to Yuki.

"And there was more than just those two in the abandoned dorm that night." Yumei was still upset that it was only Jaden and Cyrus that had to go through this. "This whole thing stinks of a set up."

Alexis and Yuki both nodded in agreement, before Dr. Crowler stepped into the center of the dueling platform. "The upcoming duel will be held under disciplinary rules. Should the students in question lose, they will be immediately expelled. Now send in the accused: Jaden Yuki and Cyrus Trusedale."

Far up in the stands, almost near the entrance to the main arena Zane was standing with his arms crossed. His normal neutral expression on his face. ' _Well little brother, time to see if you belong here or if you'll be on the next boat home.'_

Cyrus looked up towards the stands, making eye contact with his older brother. ' _Zane! I gotta believe in myself! I gotta believe in myself!'_

"Hey look Cy, Chumley made it!" Jaden clapped Cyrus's shoulder and pointed up to where the heavy set Slifer was, having just entered the arena.

"Just barely." Cyrus managed to lightly laugh.

"And I thought running … was supposed to be healthy." Chumley panted.

"And now, please allow me to introduce our special guest duelists!" At some unseen cue, a pair of duelists backflipped into sight behind Dr. Crowler. The pair were both bald, had chinese symbols tattooed into their forehead. One was wearing an orange gi, while the second wore a dark green gi. "The Paradox Brothers!"

"What!?" The three Hyoudou siblings exclaimed.

"Uh, who are these guys?" Jaden asked rather obliviously.

"Me either." Cyrus shrugged. "Maybe this tag duel won't be so bad."

"Perhaps." Crwoler then smirked. "Their last duel was against Yugi Muoto and Joey Wheeler, but they are the best tag duelists in the world."

"Salutations you fools." Para, the brother dressed in orange began.

"Hope you're ready to duel." Dox, the brother in green finished.

"I've heard about these guys." Alexis said. "They're supposed to be the best tag duelists in the world."

"Best in the world huh?" Yumei huffed, even though she was nervous about this whole situation. "If that's true, then why was their last tag duel ten years ago?"

"And just how would you know that?" Bastion asked.

"Because I was there." Yuri filled in. "I was there with Yugi and Joey when the two dueled these guys. But this was when the game was incredibly broken, and you could summon any monster without tribute."

"Enough with the pleasantries." Para began.

"And onto the duel." Dox finished.

"We didn't come here to talk." Para began.

"We came…"

"To destroy you!" Both brothers said in unison.

"Duelists prepare to battle!" Crowler spoke into the mic. "The rules are simple. Both teams will start with 8000 life points instead of 4000 separately. There will be no sharing of strategy, advice, or any card that isn't already in play. However, you may use your partners cards. Understood?"

"Yes!" All four agreed.

"Then let the duel begin!" Crowler then stepped back from the main platform.

 **Jaden/Cyrus LP-8000**

 **Paradox Brothers LP- 8000**

"Get your games on!" Jaden exclaimed, drawing his cards, before looking to Cyrus to make the first move.

"Here goes!" Cyrus announced drawing his cards. "Okay, I summon Gyroid in attack mode!" Cyrus said, while summoning his cartoonish helicopter. **Atk-1000**

"You must be joking! I'm surprised that thing even has an attack mode!" Para sneered, drawing his sixth card. "This on the other hand, Jurai Gumo!" A large creature that looked to be a cross between a spider and a scorpion appeared on Para's field. **Atk-2200**

"What? An overgrown bug?" Jaden scoffed, drawing. "It's nothing my deck can't take squash! Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in defense mode!" Jaden's fiery red costumed hero took a knee upon appearing on Jaden's field. **Def-800**

"The best defense is a good offense!" Dox drew, and smirked. "Kaiser Seahorse attack mode!" A humanoid sea creature rose onto Dox's field. **Atk-1700**

' _Alright, if they're dueling like how I think they're dueling, they're going to attack next.'_ Cyrus thought.

"Next I chose to activate a spell card." Dox announced, which caught Cyrus off guard. "Tribute Doll! To activate it, I must sacrifice a monster on our side of the field. Good thing my brother is so gracious with his! Now, farewell Jurai Gumo! I can now summon a level seven monster this turn! And I chose Kazejin!" The spider scorpion was replaced by a green skinned creature, which was only a pair of arms, with the symbol for wind on its center.

Kazejin **Atk-2400**

"He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a far stronger one." Bastion mused. "That's tag dueling."

"Just who's side are you on?" Both Yuki and Alexis asked.

"This isn't good." Yuri was leaning forward in his seat, as he had seen these two duel before, he knew what their ace monster was. "They only need two more monsters in order to summon their ace. And since they have Kaiser Seahorse on their field…"

"They'll be able to summon another piece of their ace monster during their next turn." Yumei finished.

"Do you think you know anything of this game?" Para asked.

"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words: you're lame!" Dox finished mockingly.

"And if you think this is starting to get grueling…"

"Just wait until I truly start dueling! I play Dark Designator! This powerful spell allows me to call out the name of any monster, and if my brother has it in his deck, it is automatically added to his hand." Dox announced, while pretending to think. "Now let me see… Sanga of the Thunder!"

"What do you know? It is right here, ready to tear them asunder!" Para sneered, adding the chosen card to his hand.

"There's the second monster they need." Yumei was now nervously tapping her right foot.

"The duel's just started." Para began.

"And yet it's almost done!" Dox finished.

"For your demise, has already begun!" Both brothers said in unison, which scared Cyrus.

"Don't worry Cy, they're just saying that because it's an easy rhyme." Jaden said reassuringly.

"What do you think Jaden, if we quit now, we'll have extra time to pack." Cyrus sounded incredibly nervous.

"The only thing we'll be packing is some serious punch. Come on Cy, we can beat these guys!" Jaden gave Cyrus a smile, that suddenly inspired the shorter Slifer.

"You know what? You're right!" ' _Jaden's right, we are packing some serious dueling punch! Not only am I gonna show these Paradox Brothers, I'm also gonna show Zane!'_ Thanks to Jaden, Cyrus had a sudden burst of inspiration, as he drew his next card. "All aboard! I summon Steamroid in attack mode!" Cyrus announced, summoning the cartoonish looking train monster to his field.

Steam Gyroid **Atk-1800**

"And I play Polymarization, so now I'll fuse my two monsters and summon Steam Gyroid!" Cyrus' two monsters were sucked into a vortex, merging into a combination of the two previous monsters. **Atk-2200**

"Now that's locomotion! You see you made a mistake! By sacrificing Jurai Gumo, you left your brother's field wide open!"

"Uh, Cy…" Jaden began, trying to get his partners attention, but Cyrus was way to pumped up to hear him.

"Steam Gyroid, attack Para!" Cyrus announced as his monster rushed at the orange clad twin.

"An attack!?" Para sounded rather surprised.

"Got that right!" Cyrus said confidently, despite the nervous looks of Alexis, Bastion, and the Hyoudou siblings. Crowler smirked, while all Zane did was scowl.

"If you please brother?" Para asked, earning a nod from his twin.

"Kazejin defend! Squall barricade!" A large gust of wind blew Cyrus' monster back to his side of the field. "Our monster's special ability. Do you like?"

"It brings your damage to zero without even a fight!" Para rhymed.

"So I goofed…" Cyrus felt more deflated than a popped balloon.

"These two think they can beat Para and Dox?" Dr. Crowler laughed, watching his master plan unfold. "They stink worse than my sweaty socks! Gah! Now they have me doing it!"

"Forget it Cy, no biggie." Jaden said, trying to cheer his friend up.

"Yeah, right." Cyrus let out a defeated sigh.

"Come on Cy, you can bounce back." Jaden reassured.

Cyrus took a few moments, then took a deep breath. Jaden was right. "Okay, since I can't attack again I'll end my turn with a face down card."

"Finally, a smart move." Para said, drawing a new card. "I play Monster Reborn, and bring back the dreadful Jurai Gumo. However, he will not stay around for long, as I also have the Tribute Doll spell card."

"Oh no, not again…" Cyrus groaned.

"Yes again, and I will use it to summon another level seven monster! Suigen!" Para's new monster was a pair of blue legs, and the marking for water.

Suigen **Atk-2500**

"But it doesn't end there. Mind if I borrow a monster brother?" Para asked.

"Please, that is why he is there." Dox agreed.

"Now I tribute Kaiser Seahorse. And incase you didn't know, he is treated as two tributes when summoning a light attribute monster! Now say hello to Sanga of the Tunder!" Para smirked as the final monster the brothers needed to summon their ace appeared.

Sanga of the Tunder **Atk-2600**

"This isn't good…" Yuki said.

"It's about to get worse." Yuri riplied.

"Three monsters on our field. What could be better?" Para asked.

"I think I know. When they come together!" Dox finished.

"Prepare yourselves! I sacrifice Suigen, Kazegin, and Sanga of the Thunder inorder to summon the ultimate monster: Gate Guardian!" Para announced, as all three monsters were sucked into a vortex, merging into one incredibly powerful monster.

Gate Guardian **Atk-3750**

"And there it is." Yuri gulped.

"Now I put there odds of winning at-" Bastion began.

"Bastion I swear if you finish that sentence, I will personally introduce you to a 5,000 year old Egyptian spirit." Yuki cut across.

"Gate Guardian…" Cyrus sounded as nervous as he looked.

"He's ginormous!" Jaden said in the same nervous tone.

"Wait until you see his attack! Gate Guardian, attack Steam Gyroid with Tidal Surge Attack!" At Para's orders, Gate Guardian let out a stream of water, wind, and electricity that blasted Cyrus' monster away.

 **Jaden and Cyrus LP-6450**

"This isn't a duel, this is target practice for the Paradox Brothers." Bastion began.

"Yeah, and right now, Cyrus is the bulls-eye." Yumei finished. "Come on guys, fight back."

"He just made a few bad moves. I'm sure he can come back… at least I hope he can." Alexis said. She unknowingly had a hold of one of Yuki's hands. "Jaden may be good, but he can't win this by himself."

"Come on Cy…" Yuki whispered. "Jayden needs you to get back in this."

"Alright, the bigger the are, the harder the fall." Jaden said. "Come on Cy, let's take this thing down!"

"I'd like to see you try, so I will end with with a face down." Para unknowingly rhymed with Jaden, while setting the card into his duel disk.

"Here goes." Jaden said, drawing his next card, which turned out to be Polymarization. "Alright I'm gonna play Polymarization, and fuse the Elemental Hero Clayman from my hand, and Burstinatrix, and summon Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster!"

Jaden's new monster was a female hero with heavy armor, a shield in one hand, and an arm mounted rocket launcher in the other. She was kneeling since Jaden had placed her in defense mode. **Def-2500**

"She's good alright Jaden, but she's not as good as Gate Guardian. She's only got 2500 defense, and Gate Guardian has 3750 attack." Cyrus was truly beginning to become nervous. "Rampart Blaster will be blasted."

"No sweat, that's what her special ability is for." Jaden's grin was back on his face. "See when she's in defense mode, she can attack directly."

The Paradox brothers gasped when they realized what was about to happen. "Our life points!"

"Go Rampart Blaster! Attack!" Jaden ordered his monster, who then sent a barrage of missiles that went past Gate Guardian, and hit the twin brothers. "Sure, it may only be half damage, but it's a special effect. What are you gonna do?"

 **Paradox Brothers LP-7000**

"A lucky move!" Dox growled, while Cyrus smiled.

"We're back in this!"

Jaden laughed, ruffling his partner's hair. "We were never out of it!"

' _Jaden's right!'_ Cyrus thought. ' _We can win this!'_

"It's my turn!" Dox declared, as he drew his card. "I'll play Fairy Meteor Crush, and equip it to Gate Guardian. Now when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference is taken from your life points!"

"Not so fast!" Cyrus said, revealing his facedown card. "Forget about my face down? Mystical Space Typhoon, it can destroy one of your cards in your back row! So say goodbye to your equip spell!"

"Right into my trap!" Para smirked, revealing his own face down. "I activate Judgement of Anubis! Foolish boy, this let's me stop your spell by discarding one card from my hand. Your typhoon has been reduced to nothing but a gentle breeze! But that is not all, it also allows me to destroy one of your monsters.

Rampart Blaster exploded, which made Dox's smirk grow wider. "And you take damage equal to its attack points!"

 **Jaden/Cyrus LP-4450**

"I know it feels like your back is to the wall, but in reality the wall is right in front of you!" Dox announced, revealing his newest monster. "I play this in defense mode!"

Dox's new monster was a rather large wall. **Def-2100**

"It's called Defense wall, and while he's on the field, all monsters you have can only attack him!"

"Gate Guardian on offense, and that wall on defense." Bastion mused. "An almost flawless strategy. Almost…"

"We get it already!" Yuki and Alexis snapped, shooting Bastion irritated looks.

"Bastion, I get that you're impressed." Yumei said, just as irritated as her brother. "But you are cheering for the wrong team."

Dox cast a rather confident look at Cyrus. "It's your turn, what are you waiting for?"

' _To be honest, a myracle.'_ Cyrus thought, as he drew a card. "I summon Cycroid in defense mode…"

Cycroid **Def-1000**

"You summon a bike? Well it is about to get a flat!" Para sneered, as he drew a card. "Gate Guardian, Tidal Surge Attack!" Gate Guardian's combined elemental attack blasted Cyrus' monster away, and thanks to its equip card the attack followed through and hit the smaller Slifer.

 **Jaden/Cyrus LP-1700**

"Your life points are falling…"

"Your gameplay is appauling…"

"There's nothing left, but to give up and start bawling!" Both brothers rhymed in unison.

"It's two monsters to none." Bastion sighed. "They'll be knackered."

"Great, now you're doubting them in words I don't even understand." Alexis retorted, in a very irritated manner. She was really starting to get sick of Bastion's doubting her friends. "I'm sure Jaden has a strategy."

"Jaden I'm sure of." Bastion replied. "It's Cyrus I'm worried about. He's fallen into every trap the brothers have laid. He's been horrible."

Yuki couldn't take this anymore. He grabbed Bastion by the front of his yellow blazer, and got right in the Ra's face. "One more word. Just one." The Millenium Ring began to glow.

' _Please let them win!'_ Chumley began to pray. ' _I swear I'll give up grilled cheese for a week if they win!'_

"I'm a genius! A pure genius! I lure Jaden into the abandoned dorm, I arrange this tag duel as punishment! And then I hire the best tag duelists in the world, to ensure he and Cyrus get expelled!" Crowler then began to laugh like a maniac.

"Enjoying the boys' punishment a little too much are we?" Chancelor Shepard asked from his front row seat, which startled the head of Obelisk Blue.

"Oh my no. You misinterpret!" Crowler quickly backpeddled. "I'm laughing because this duel is almost over. I don't want to prolong their suffering, as they look so weary."

"Doesn't look that way to me." Shepard pointed towards back to the dueling ring. "In fact, I think Jaden just got his second wind."

True to Shepard's point, Jaden had gotten back to his feet, a confident grin on his face.

"So the Slifer Red forges ahead." Para began with a new rhyme. "When the smart duelist…"

"Would have fled." Dox finished his brother's rhyme.

"I kinda wished they had named us Slifer Orange. That way, we wouldn't have to put up with their awful rhyming." Jaden's remark earned him an irritated look from the brothers, who were clearly insulted. That look made the hero duelist chuckle, as he drew his next card, while Winged Kuriboh appeared above his left shoulder, cooing in agreement with Jaden's remark about the rhyming. "Yeah, I don't think they get it either."

"Forget about our rhyming…"

"Just concentrate on your card play…"

"For the partner you have…"

"To win, you have a long way!" The brothers rhymed once again, which caused Cyrus to hang his head.

"Don't listen to them Cy." Jaden said in an attempt to buck his friend up.

"But-" Cyrus began, only to be cut off by his friend.

"No. No 'buts'. You're gonna be the one to take down that thing!" Jaden pointed to Gate Guardian. "So let's go! I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!"

Elemental Hero Sparkman **Atk-1600**

"And I'll give him the equip card Spark Blaster! And with each blast, I can change the battle position of one monster on the field, so take a knee Gate Guardian!" Sparkman leveled his blaster at Gate Guardian, and the blast forced the large monster into defense mode.

"An odd move." Bastion mused. "Unless he has a plan, I feel he's wasted turn."

Yuki had a retort, however he stopped since he realized Bastion had a point. "Good point, I'd have used that blast on Defense Wall."

"You must be a fool, when Gate Guardian's in defense he never tires!" Para began with another rhyme. "Your situation is dire!"

"And though I hate to feed the fire." Dox continued his brother's rhyme. "Our Defense Wall you have yet to retire!"

"Yeah, thanks. I'm just gonna play a face down and end my turn." Jaden set his chosen card into his duel disk.

Dox then drew his next card. "I'll set one card. No more, no less. Now brother, you do the rest."

"Excellent decision, as I think that's best." Para rhymed, while drawing his next card. "For next turn, I'll win us this contest!"

"Jaden…" Cyrus looked desperately to his partner.

"Listen to me Cy. One draw is all it takes to turn things around and win." Jaden began. "Remember the last time you had one last draw?"

Cyrus perked up, when he recalled the _exact_ moment Jaden was talking about. "Alright, but still. The only win is if I draw _that_ card…" Cyrus closed his eyes, as he picked the top card of his deck. "Jaden!"

"You drew it!?" Jaden asked excitedly, only to receive an excited nod from his partner. "Alright buddy, show 'em the drill!"

"Alright, I summon Drilloid in attack mode!" Cyrus said, summoning a cartoonish looking drill-like monster. **Atk-1600**

"And when Drilloid attacks a monster in defense mode, he's automatically destroyed!" Cyrus' confidence began to rise once again, as the Paradox looked to one another in shock. "So open wide!" Drilloid rushed at Gate Guardian.

"Defense Wall!" Dox cried out. His monster intercepted the attack, and was destroyed instead.

"A nice try!" Para began to rhyme.

"But not nice enough." Dox continued.

"For Gate Guardian stands, despite your best stuff!"

"But that wasn't his best stuff, right Cy?" Jaden smirked.

"That's right, since your wall is down, your Gate Guardian is wide open! I play Shield Crush, and the name says it all! When I play it, one monster in defense mode is automatically destroyed!" Cyrus matched Jaden's smirked, as a green beam shot from his card, destroying Gate Guardian.

"Gate Guardian is cooked!" Para groaned.

"I can hardly look!" Dox finished.

"Nice going Cy! The bigger they brawl, the harder they fall!" Jaden exclaimed, while the crowd cheered. All except for Dr. Crowler and Chazz.

"No! This is supposed to be a punishment, and the crowd is treating them like heroes! Chancellor Shepard, please tell me you're seeing this!" Crowler ground his teeth once more.

Chancellor Shepard had a bright smile on his face. "I am Crowler, this duel is showing teamwork and duel fortitude. Good job."

"Fried cheese here I come!" Chumley cheered, while Zane simply grunted. Though there was a smile on the Obelisks face. A small one, but a smile none the less.

"Did you see that!? Tell my you saw that!"

"Yes Bastion! We saw that!" Alexis cheered, once again unknowingly gripping Yuki's hand.

"Great move Cy!" Yuki called out!

"I place one card face down." Cyrus said, giving Yuki a thumbs up. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Thanks for the sweet move." Jaden replied.

"Mind if we join in on the praise you two?" Para asked, his tone making Jaden and Cyrus nervous.

"For in destroying out monster, we should really…"

"Thank you!" Boh brothers finished.

"They say what doesn't destroy you, makes you stronger." Para began, selecting a card from his hand. "We believe this is true. After all we aren't destroyed, and we are about to become more powerful than ever! I play the spell card Dark Element! This card can only be activated when Gate Guardian is in the graveyard, and by paying half our life points it allows us to summon a monster that cannot be destroyed in battle! Dark Guardian!"

 **Paradox Brothers LP-3500**

A hole opened up in front of the brothers, and a large dark armored warrior crawled out from the hole. **Atk-3800**

"Invincible in battle, and has those attack points?" Bastion was floored.

"Okay, this is bad." Yumei's foot was rapidly taping once again.

"Now, Dark Guardian attack Drilloid!" Para's monster raised his axe to strike Cyrus' monster.

"This is it! If this attack connects, it's all over!" Bastion looked away, while both Yuki and Alexis clenched the others hand out of fear.

"Not yet! I activate a trap card, Hero Barrier! Sorry fellas, but this card allows me to stop one attack so long as I have one Hero monster on my field. And as you can see, I still have Sparkman!" Jaden smirked, while a blue barrier appeared in front of Jaden and Cyrus' monsters that deflected Dark Guardian's attack.

Jaden's move caused Yuki and Alexis to sigh in relief, only to blush furiously when they realized they were holding hands and quickly letting go, turning their attention back to the duel.

"An impressive trap card." Para began.

"I never thought they would fight this hard." Dox finished.

"I know, we bombard and bombard. But at least our precious Dark guardian…"

"Has kept up his guard!"

Para smirked once again. "Quite right brother, he will blast them to shards!"

"He'll finish them off next turn…"

"And this duel will be ours!" The brothers rhymed in unison yet again.

' _Oh man, just when I step up my game, they step up theirs even more'_ Cyrus thought.

"Chin up Cy, this duel isn't over yet." Jaden was still smirking.

"But Jaden…"

"But nothing pal. Chin up." ' _Because you're about to get a good view as to what I'm about to do next.'_

"It looks like the boy still wants to proceed." Para began, which made Yuki and Yumei both roll their eyes at the constant rhyming.

"I thought it would be for mercy, he would surely plead." Dox rhymed.

"No, it would seem he would need smarts to know when to concede." Para smirked, which irritated Jaden.

"Can it you two! It's my turn, and I activate the spell card Pot of Greed giving me two new cards. And next I'll play the field spell card Fusion Gate, which means I no longer need my Polymarization card. So I'm gonna fuse my Elemental Hero's Sparkman, Avian, and Bubblemn and summon Elemental Hero Tempest!"

Jaden's new monster was a tall male hero with blue armor, green hair and visor, a cannon on his right arm, and green metallic wings. **Atk-2800**

"Impressive move, but it's useless boy!" Para began.

"For Dark Guardian is still deployed! And since in battle he cannot be destroyed!" Dox filled in.

"Your beast is null and void!"

"Void this! Skyscraper!" Jaden discarded his Fusion Gate card, and inserted his new field spell, causing multiple buildings to spring up around the duelists. "Now when a weaker Hero monster attacks a stronger monster, they'll get a 1000 attack point boost!"

Elemental Hero Tempest **Atk-3800**

"Now Tempest attack! Powerhouse Plummet!"

"Didn't I warn you that in battle, he can't be beat? You monster is wasted, so just accept…"

"Your defeat!"

"Cy can you spare a card?" Jaden asked, while Tempest and Dark Guardian clashed.

"Sure!"

"Alright, I activate Tempests special ability!" Jaden exclaimed, while Cyrus' face down card vanished. "By sacrificing one of our cards, he can survive being destroyed in battle!"

"I don't get it, what was he hoping for? A tie?" Alexis asked.

"I'm not entirely sure." Yuki shrugged.

Zane however was not confused, in fact there was an actual smile on his face. "Good move. Now let's see if Cyrus knows what to do next."

"Jaden, what are you up to?" Cyrus asked.

"Relax Cy, it'll work out so long as you draw the right card on your next turn." Jaden smiled.

"If he has a next turn!" Dox exclaimed as he drew his next card. "I activate the spell card One on One Fight! This forces our strongest monsters to do battle!"

"But why? It'll be a tie." Cyrus was clearly confused at Dox's strategy.

"I have my reasons." Dox replied, as Dark Guardian and Tempest clashed again.

"And they're sneaky reason at that." Alexis said. "Jaden will have to keep discarding cards to keep Tempest on the field."

"And all he's got left is Skyscraper." Yuki's tone was filled with worry, as Jaden discarded his field spell.

Elemental Hero Tempest **Atk-2800**

"So you saved your monster, but not your life points!" Dox exclaimed, while Jaden and Cyrus' life points dropped.

 **Jaden/Cyrus LP-700**

"That's all from me." Dox said, finishing his turn.

"And next turn, I will finish it. Just wait and see." Para rhymed.

"This duel will be ours I guarantee!"

"Alright Cy, remember what I told you. It all depends on if you play the right card." Jaden said, while Cyrus gave a nod of understanding.

' _Play a card… wait, that's it!'_ In that moment, something finally made sense to Cyrus. Something he had asked Zane a long time ago. The difference between knowing how to use a card, and knowing how to play it was something that could never be taught. It took a moment of clarity. When dueling on a whole other level, all the angles, all the pieces. One wouldn't think. They'd just act.

' _Alright, no more thinking. It's time for action!'_ A look of determination suddenly replaced Cyrus' nervous expression. Cyrus drew his next card. "Alright, here we go! I sacrifice Drilloid, and summon UFOroid in attack mode!" Drilloid vanished, to be replace by a cartoonish looking space saucer. **Atk-1200**

"And next I activate the spell Power Bond! It's a spell card that allows me to summon a strong machine-type monster! And I know just the monsters to fuse! You mind Jaden?"

"What's mine is yours buddy!" Jaden smiled.

"Alright, I'll fuse Tempest and UFOroid with Power Bond, and summon UFOroid Fighter!" Cyrus' fusion monster looked as if Tempest had just leapt onto the top of UFOroid. However, the attack points were more than enough to offset the silly appearance of the monster. **Atk-4000**

"It matters not, so cease your useless prattle!" Para began.

"You know Dark Guardian cannot be destroyed in battle!" Dox finished.

Cyrus now had a smirk that matched Jaden's. "It doesn't really matter, since Power Bond Doubles my monsters attack!"

UFOroid Fighter **Atk-8000**

"To make 8000!?" The brothers gasped in surprise!

"Sure your monster will survive, but your life points won't! Go UFOroid Fighter! Cosmic Flux Blast!" Cyrus' monster raised his arm cannon, and unleashed a powerful blast, which hit Dark Guardian and continued onto the Paradox Brothers.

 **Paradox Brothers LP-0000**

The packed arena went crazy with cheering students. Yuki and Alexis hugged one another, before letting go and joining Yumei, and Yuri in rushing the stage to congratulate their friends.

"No!" Crowler growled in dismay. "How could they have won!?"

"Obviously because of your splendid teaching." Professor banner said, walking up to Dr. Crowler with his large cat in his arms. "Oh wait, they're in my dorm." Banner laughed, as Pharoah licked Crowler's face, causing him to panic.

"That furball licked me! Does he have rabies!? Call the pound!"

"We did it Cy!" Jaden cheered, before the two were nearly tackled by their friends, and it took some time before Chancellor Shepard was able to separate them.

"Well done you two!" There was a bight smile on his face. "You've proven you deserve to stay at this academy!"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Jaden turned his attention to the Paradox Brothers. "That was a sweet duel, I hope we can have a rematch someday~"

"Well said Jaden!" Shepard clapped the Slifer student on the shoulder. "And I'm sure it will sound even better written. I'd like a five page paper on what you've learned on dueling today."

"Talk about a bummer." Jaden groaned, which made Shapard laugh jovially.

"How about ten pages then?"

' _Id like to think I impressed you today Zane. But I know I have a ways to go before I'm at your level. But at least I know I can do it here.'_ Cyrus thought as he looked up to where his brother was standing.

Zane was still smiling, as he walked away.


	18. Chapter 18

The school was absolutely buzzing. A few days after Jaden and Cyrus had defeated the Paradox Brothers, the rumor that Yumei Hyoudou was up for a promotion match had spread throughout the school like wildfire. At that point, everyone knew that they Hyoudou twins were two of the strongest first year students at the academy, and neither of them had lost a duel yet.

"So who do you think it's gonna be?" Kai asked. He and Yuki were sitting in the second year Obelisks dorm. They were constructing new decks just for the fun of it from their spare cards.

Yuki thought for a few moments, while he stared at three cards in front of him. He was debating on weather or not to add them into one of his two main decks, or one of the mock decks he and Kai were building. "I don't know. But isn't that the point? Not letting you know who your opponent is gonna be, so you can't get an advantage against your opponent?"

Kai thought about this for a few seconds. "You make a good point, but because everybody knows someone knows about the promotion duel, including the chosen opponent, that means they'd know what deck you'd use, and know how to counter your strategy."

"Which is why you heavily edit your deck beforehand." Yuki countered. "Like what you and Yumei helped me with before my promotion duel with Torimaki."

"And you're sure that she doesn't…?" Kai asked. He had let his sentence fall on purpose, but Yuki picked up on what he was asking.

"She said she's all set for whoever it is." Yuki answered, having made his decision with his three cards. "But speaking of dueling, did you get that duel against Yuri yet?"

"Not yet, but he's promised me a duel before he leaves the island." Kai answered now curiously watching Yuki construct a new deck. "But I'm holding him to it."

* * *

"So…" Fujin began. In similar fashion to Yuki and Kai, Fujin had er spare cards out. However unlike the two Obelisk boys, Fujin was making some changes to her actual deck. The cards of her main deck were spread out across Yumei's deck, as the two had just finished another practice duel. This time Fujin had been the one to duel Yumei, and had been absolutely destroyed. Which is why she was currently revising her deck in Yumei's dorm. "Your promotion duel is tomorrow. You nervous?"

Yumei opened her mouth to respond, however almost immediately closed it. She wanted to say she was ready. However that wasn't entirely the truth.

"Not really." She finally let out with a sigh. "I'm…"

"Nervous?" Fujin filled in.

Yumei nodded, taking a deep breath. "I have no idea why. I mean, I've seen gods, ancient egyptian spirits possessing friends and family, and I've been in life threatening shadow games!" She managed to let out a laugh. "And the craziest thing right now, is that I'm nervous about this one duel, that compared with everything else I've been through, is pretty trivial."

"Okay…" Fujin crossed over to the Ra, and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Take a deep breath. Calm down. You'll be fine."

"But…" Yumei began, before Fujin cut her off.

"Nope. no 'buts'." Fujin had a soothing tone in her voice. "Let me tell you something. I wasn't always an Obelisk. I didn't go to duel pep school, I didn't even do that good in my practical exam. I was a collective mess, but I passed the practical."

It was then Yumei understood. "They put you in Slifer and worked your way up?"

Fujin smiled. "Bingo. I spent a lot of time in Slifer building up my deck, and my self-confidence. But I didn't advance right away. I failed my promotion duel to Ra about three times, before I got my hands on my best cards, and formed my deck around them."

"Which are?" Yumei asked, only to have Fujin shake her head.

"That's a secret." The Obelisk replied in a teasing manner. "But I'll fill you in on something. Those cards are the reason everyone here calls me the OTK Queen. Now that aside, it doesn't matter who you're up against tomorrow, and it doesn't matter if you lose. You'll get another opportunity."

"Okay…" Yumei began, as another thought came into her mind. "What if the duel ends in a draw?"

"That…" Fujin blinked in surprise. "...is a very good question."

There was a brief pause, before both girls began snickering, which soon gave way to full blown laughter.

* * *

The next day around noon the entire school had packed into the main building's largest arena. It being the weekend, it was rather obvious that classes weren't taking place that day. Yumei being one of the few students that hadn't lost a duel since arriving, and that meant there was a rush for good seats, which cullminated when several professors had to separate a few students from getting into physical altercations over seats at the front row.

"Glad we got here early." Alexis said, giving a few other Obelisks irritated side glances as they slunked off to find other seats.

"Glad we got here before things got nasty." Kai agreed from the seat in front of Alexis, while Yuri situated himself in the seat next to the Obelisk boy.

"Hey…" Alexis frowned, having noticed something. Almost the entire school was there. Zane had even come from his usual spot from high in the stands, and had taken a seat next to Alexis. Everyone she knew was there, except… "Where's Yuki?"

"I'm not sure." Kai answered, turning to face Alexis. "He said he was going to run late, but he should be here by now."

"Well he better show up." Jasmine's tone sounded slightly irritated. "I mean, what kind of brother doesn't show up for a promotion duel? Especially when his sister's the one who's up for the promotion?"

"He'll show up." Zane said matter of factly, while professor Satyr head of Ra, and Dr. Crowler the head of Obelisk stepped up to the main dueling platform.

"If I could have everyone's attention?" Professor Satyr began, speaking into a microphone. "Today's duel would be held under promotion rules. Meaning should the Ra student win, she will be immediately promoted to Obelisk Blue! Now please join me in welcoming miss Yumei Hyoudou!"

The arena exploded with applause when Yumei entered the arena accompanied by Fujin. Yumei seemed calm, and thanks to Fujin she was just as calm inside as she looked on the surface.

At least until she heard what came next.

"And please allow me to introduce her opponent…!" Dr. Crowler announced, and gestured to the opposite entrance.

' _ **BURN IT DOWN!'**_

The entire crowd was shocked. Only one person at the academy had entrance music. And sure enough Yuki soon made his way onto the main dueling stage.

"Yu!?" Yumei said as shocked as the rest of the crowd looked.

"Yeah… but believe me sis, this wasn't my idea." Yuki replied.

* * *

 _On the same day Yuki found out that Chumley's father had come to attempt and force him to drop out, Yuki had gotten a summons Chancellor Shepard's office. "You wanted to see me?" Yuki asked, walking into the large office. A jolt of fear shot through Yuki's stomach when he saw both Professor Satyr and Dr. Crowler were in Shepard's office. "Uh… did I do something wrong?"_

" _Oh far from it!" Crowler said in a reassuring tone. The head of Obelisk led Yuki further into Shepard's office. "We just wanted to speak to you about your sister's upcoming promotion duel."_

" _Wait, wasn't it put on hold because of Jaden and Cyrus' tag duel?" Yuki looked between the three adults for an answer._

" _Yes that is the case." Shepard began. "However once that wraps up, your sister's promotion duel is the next event on the academy schedule … well that and the upcoming Halloween formal."_

 _One question at a time. "Okay, and what about…" Yuki then put things together. "Oh no… you can't be serious…"_

" _It's the most obvious course of action." Shepard had his hands folded under his chin. "Think about it. The both of you have gone undefeated since arriving at the academy, and everyone knows it. Since nobody else would be a good fit to be her opponent, and having her duel Zane is…"_

" _Overkill?" Yuki supplied._

" _Exactly." Shepard replied. "So will you accept?"_

 _It was either have Yumei duel a lesser opponent, or risk his sister hitting him with an OTK … like every time she had dueled him in the past. Oh well, it was worth his undefeated streak and a little bit of humiliation of an OTK if Yumei got into Obelisk._

* * *

"Oh Yuki." Yumei shook her head, despite the smile on her face. "Well you ready for this?"

"Whenever you are sis." Yuki held up his duel disk.

"Duelists, prepare for battle!" Dr. Crowler spoke into his microphone, as both siblings readied their duel disks.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Yumei-LP 4000**

"Your promotion duel, so you draw first." Yuki offered his sibling, having drawn his five cards.

"Okay Yu, here I come!" Yumei drew her sixth card. "Well let's start off with this, an old familiar! Valkyrian Knight in attack mode!"

Yumei's regal looking warrior materialised on her field. **Akt-1900**

"If that's all, I guess it's my turn." Yuki said, drawing his sixth card. ' _Okay, nothing I have in my hand will stand up to Yumei's knight. But I think I have a way to rectify that. So…'_ "Okay sis, I'll summon Silent Paladin in defense mode.

Yuki's new monster was a female with blond hair tied up in a ponytail, weilding a sword and shield with blue-white armor. **Def-1500**

"I don't get it…" Torimaki said from a few seats over from where Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy were sitting. "Why play that monster?"

"Because." Fujin filled in, taking a seat next to Jasmine. "That monsters effect allows Yuki to add another monster into his hand."

"Wait… I saw that card last night." Kai's eyes went wide when he realized just what deck Yuki was using. Having watched him construct it the night before. "He's using _that_ deck?"

"Something up?" Yuri asked, now looking at Kai with a very curious expression.

"Yeah, Yuki just built that deck last night." Kai explained to the eldest of the Hyoudou siblings. "I saw him build it."

"But that doesn't make sense." Alexis frowned. "Why would he use a deck he just constructed last night in a really big duel like this?"

"I'm sure he's got is reasons." Zane said, though there was a frown on the Obelisks face. As if he too didn't approve of someone using a newly constructed deck in a situation like this.

After adding the specified card to his hand, Yuki then selected two more cards. "I'll set one card face down, then activate the spell card; the Golden Sarcophagus! Now, you and I know about how this card works, but for those who don't… I take one card from my deck and place it into the sarcophagus, and if at any point you activate the card I put in, that card is negated."

"A good card." Zane nodded. He may not approve of Yuki dueling with a brand new deck in this fashion, but it was clear that Yuki knew how to play his cards. You don't go undefeated if you don't know how.

"So what did Yuki mean?" Alexis sounded confused. "Where did they see this card used before?"

"They saw it used ten years ago when Yugi dueled Pharoah Atem." Yuri explained. "Yugi used the same card, and placed Monster Reborn in the sarcophagus. It's how Yugi beat Atem. When he attempted to use Monster Reborn to bring back the god Osiris, Yugi revealed he'd hidden away Monster Reborn, negating the card and ultimately winning Yugi the duel."

"So is Yuki attempting to use the same strategy?" Mindy asked.

"We'll see." Fujin said, as Yumei's turn began.

"Okay, not bad Yu." Yumei said, drawing her next card. "And you know what? I think I'll match you. Silent Paladin in defense mode!"

Yumei's own blonde, blue-white armored paladin appeared, and took a knee in a defensive stance when she hit the field. **Def-1500**

"Okay, now I'll end my turn with my own face down." Yumei announced sliding her card into her duel disk.

"Okay, now I'm confused." Torimaki began frowning. "Normally she would attack."

"Because if Yumei destroyed Yuki's paladin, he gets to add a 'silent' monster into his hand from the graveyard." Fujin explained.

"But isn't there only Silent Swordsman?" Cyrus asked. The Slifer trio had in a very uncharacteristic move, arrived about the same time as Zane, and the three had ended up getting seats behind the third year Obelisk.

Zane shook his head at his younger brother's question. "No little brother. There's a spellcaster in the silent archetype. And if I'm right, Yuki's running a deck with the silent spellcasters."

"Alright, my draw. And I'll summon Skilled Black Magician in attack mode!" Yuki's choice in monster had all but a few people in the arena buzzing, as everyone believed that Yuki primarily dueled using dragon monsters.

Skilled Black Magician **Atk-1900**

"Then I play Pot of Greed." Thanks to said spell card, Yuki now had two more cards in his hand. "And I think I'll play both of the cards I just drew. The first being the field card; Magical Citadel of Endymon!"

The main dueling platform chanced when Yuki activated his field spell, to resemble a large city that seemed to be run by all sorts of different magics.

"Next I'll play a card you're all to familiar with sis! Double Summon! And thanks to this, I'm allowed one more normal summon, so say hello to your swordsmans counterpart! Silent Magician Level Four!" Yuki's new spellcaster looked rather similar to Yumei's Silent Swordsman Level Three. In that it was a rather small cartoonish looking monster. **Atk-1000**

"There it is Cyrus." Zane said once Yuki summoned the monster in question.

"It looks weak now." Yuri began. "But once Yumei's next turn begins, it'll get stronger."

"But I'm not done yet sis." There was a smirk on Yuki's face, something that rather unnerved his twin sister. "I sacrifice Skilled Black Magician, along with the three spell counters I just gave him, and special summon Black Magician!"

A gasp went through the crowd. Nobody had expected Yuki to have a legendary monster like that. As Skilled Black Magician vanished, Yuki's green armored pale skinned spellcaster appeared on his field. **Atk-2500**

"Now, Black Magician, destroy Valkyrian Knight! Black Magic Attack!" Black Magician pointed his staff at Yumei's monster, and blasted her away, by firing an orb of dark looking energy.

 **Yumei-LP 3600**

"Yuki drew first blood." Zane sounded rather impressed. "He's pretty skilled when it comes to spellcaster monsters."

"You think this new deck of his is impressive Zane." There was a smile on Fujin's face, while she recalled just how Yuki had taken out Bakura possessed Lance. "You should see his original spellcaster deck."

"Still though." Fujin added. "As good as Yuki is, I wouldn't discount Yumei."

"Not bad." Yumei sounded just as impressed as Fujin. "You got one of your best spellcasters out in what? Your second turn?"

"I get lucky every now and then." Yuki chuckled.

"There's an understatement." Yumei managed a laugh. "But just because you struck first, doesn't mean I'm out of this duel!"

Yumei drew her next card, which caused Silent Magician to become stronger.

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-1500**

"Okay, well I'll summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode." Yumei announced, summoning the heavily muscular warrior to her field. **Atk-1400**

"Sure I might take battle damage from your magician, but my monster won't be destroyed by battle."

"I think you're forgetting about my Silent Magician." Yuki replied, while his sister set a card face down.

"Nah, I'm not worried about him." Yumei shook her head. "Your turn."

"I think you mean 'her'." Yuki corrected, as he drew. "Okay sis, hope you're ready. Silent Magician attack!"

Silent Magician pointed her staff at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, gathering magical energy in her staff, before sending it flying at Yumei's monster … which made Yumei smirk.

"Oh no you don't!" I activate my face down card, Defense Draw! Now I don't take battle damage, _and_ I get to draw a card!"

Yumei's new card caused Silent Magician to become stronger.

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-2000**

"Good move." Zane said. "Now neither of Yuki's monsters will be able to destroy Celtic Guardian."

Silent Magician's attack was deflected harmlessly away from Celtic Guardian.

"Not bad sis, alright your move." Yuki relented, as his turn ended.

"Alright then, my draw!"

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-2500**

' _Okay, gotta do something about Yuki's monster and fast.'_ Yumei glanced at her new card. ' _Oh, that'll work!'_ "Alright, I'll start off by activating my own Pot of Greed!"

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-3500**

"Then I'll activate my own Double Summon, and bring out my Command and Valkyrian Knight!"

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-1900**

Command Knight **Atk-1200**

"Not bad." Zane gave a nod of approval, this having been the first time seeing Yumei duel. "Now Yuki won't be able to attack any of his sisters warrior monsters. And if he attacks her Silent Paladin…"

"Yumei can add one of her Silent Swordsman monsters." Alexis finished. "Plus there's the fact that Command Knight raises all warrior monsters attack points."

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-1800**

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-2300**

Command Kight **Atk-1600**

"Your move now Yuki." Yumei said, placing a card facedown before her turn came to an end.

"Alright, here we go." Yuki said, drawing his next card. "Okay, first I'll start by sacrificing Silent Magician level Four, and bringing out Silent Magician level Eight!"

Yuki's cartoonish looking spellcaster was sucked into a vortex, only for a much more mature looking female spellcaster to appear in its place. **Atk-3500**

"Been a while since I've seen that monster." Yuri said more to himself, while remembering the ceremonial duel between Yugi and Pharaoh Atem.

"Alright, now I'll activate Magical Dimension!" Yuki announced, placing the chosen card into his duel disk. "See sis, this card lets me tribute one of my monsters, and allows me to special summon another. So I'll tribute Silent Paladin, and call Silent Magician to the field!"

Yet another mature looking female spellcaster appeared on Yuki's field, taking the spot where Silent Paladin had been moments before she was sucked into the golden colored sarcophagus. **Atk-1000**

"I don't get it." Cyrus frowned. "Why would Yuki sacrifice a monster that has less attack points than Silent Paladin's defense points?"

"Because of Silent Magician's effect." Yuri explained, turning to face the small Silfer. "Like her level four counterpart, Silent Magician gets stronger every time your opponent draws a card. And with the way Yuki summoned her, by using Magical Dimension and sacrificing Silent Paladin, Silent Paladin's effect kicks off. Which allows Yuki to add Silent Magician level Four back to his hand."

"And there's also the added effect of Magical Dimension." Alexis interjected, while recalling the way Yuki defeated her when they had dueled. "Yuki can destroy one monster on Yumei's field."

"Alright sis, time to say goodbye to Command Knight!" Yumei's monster was soon sucked into the golden sarcophagus before it vanished. "And with your Command Knight gone, your monsters lose their boost in their attack!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **Atk-1400**

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-1900**

"Not bad Yuki." A smile was on Yumei's face. Somehow, despite dueling her twin brother in front of the entire academy, and facing down some of her twin's best monsters, her nervousness was ebbing away. This was just another duel with Yuki, and she had the better track record between the two so… "But this duel isn't over just yet, thanks to my face down card. Threatening Roar!"

Yuki winced at the loud sound that came from Yumie's trap card. "Nice move. And speaking of moves sis, you're up."

"Alright then, my draw." Yumei smiled when she drew her next card. "Okay Yu, I'll start off by summoning Warrior Dai Grepher in attack mode."

The monster in question was a large heavily muscular man, with a grim expression on his face, who wielded a large oddly green colored blade. **Atk-1800**

"But wait, there's more!" There was a smirk on her face, while she selected her next card. "Now I'll sacrifice my three monsters and special summon Gilford The Lightning!"

"Uh-oh…" Yuki groaned, remembering his first official duel at the academy, while up in the stands Fujin had a smile on her face.

"What'll you do now Yuki?" Fujin asked, as the heavily muscled warrior appeared on Yumie's field.

Gilford the Lightning **Atk-2800**

"And with him being special summoned the way I did, his effect kicks off." Yumei explained. "Now all your monsters get sent to the graveyard!"

Yuki had to shield himself with his duel disk, while all his monsters exploded in a large cloud of pixels. "Okay, I want this on the record: I hate when that happens."

Yumei snorted with laughter at her twin's remark. "Duly noted."

"Okay, so since you destroyed Silent Magician." Yuki began to explain. "Her effect kicks off, which allows me to special summon Silent Magician Level Eight from anywhere! Hand, deck, out of play zone … or even my graveyard!"

"Uh-oh…" Now it was Yumei's turn to groan, as Silent Magician appeared on Yuki's field once again.

Silent Magician Level 8 **Atk-3500**

"Very impressive." Bastion mused. The Ra student was sitting beside the Slifer trio, having arrived at the same time as his three friends. "Yuki has had an answer for nearly every move his sister has made."

"Okay, well then I'll end my turn with a face down." Yumei relented, inserting the card into her duel disk.

"Right then, my draw!" Yuki drew his next card with a smirk. "Okay, I'll set a card face down. Then I'll summon Silent Magician Level Four again."

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-1000**

"Okay, now I'll attack Gilford with Silent Magician Level Four!" Yuki announced, which shocked the entire crowd.

"Okay…" Kai began. "Why would he do that?"

"Okay sis, I know you're confused by what I just did, so let me explain with my face down card. Silent Burn!" A gasp went through the crowd, once Yuki revealed his face down card. "See when I activate it, and you have more cards than I do, the both of us can draw six cards!"

That's when it clicked for Kai. "Oh Yuki you geneus."

"But it doesn't bode well for Yumei…" Fujin said nervously, since she didn't want all her training with Yumei to go to waste.

Silent Magician Level Four **Atk-3500**

"Not bad Yu, but you forgot about my face down card." Yumei smirked, revealing yet another trap. "Waboku. Now I don't take any damage, _and_ my monsters aren't destroyed."

Silent Magician's attack bounced harmlessly off of Gilford.

"Right, I'll set two cards face down and call it a turn." Yuki placed his cards in his duel disk as his card ended.

"Looks like Yumei's been able to counter every one of Yuki's moves as well." Alexis countered, shooting a smug look at Bastion.

"Lex…" Mindy said in a hushed tone, so that only Alexis could hear. "Why are you rooting for Yumei? I thought you liked Yuki…?"

Alexis' face went bright red. She opened and closed her mouth several times, before ultimately deciding to focus on the duel.

"Alright, my draw!" Yumei announced as she took her next card. ' _Okay Yuki's really improved since coming here. But I really want that blue jacket, so it's time to start turning this duel around!'_

"Okay Yu, I summon Gierfried the Iron Knight in attack mode. But he won't be sticking around, since I use the spell card Release Restraint!" Yumei announced, as she played both cards from her hand.

Gierfried's armor fell off, revealing the long haired muscular warrior that was Yumei's new monster. **Atk-2500**

"Not so fast!" Yuki countered, as he revealed one of his face down cards. "I have a trap! Bottomless trap hole! And since it only works when my opponent special summons a monster, which you just did, I get to remove that monster from the game!"

"Damn…" Yumei cursed, as her new monster was sucked into a bottomless chasm.

"I know that's one of your OTK strategies sis." Yuki said. "And it wont work with this deck."

"Wait, you mean!?" Yumei's eyes widened, as things clicked.

"Yup, I made this deck to counter your OTK moves!"

An excited murmur went through the crowd at this news, as everyone knew Yumei liked to win using OTK's just as much as Fujin. This was becoming a very exciting duel to watch.

"Okay, then I'll set another card face down."

"Right." Yuki took his next card. "Okay sis, time for you to meet a new monster. You wonder why I played this field spell? It's because I can remove six spell counters from this card, and special summon him to the field."

Yumei gasped in surprise. She'd played so many spell cards, and had unkowingly played right into her twin's hands.

"Now say hello to my new monster; Endymon the Master Magicain!"

A series of magic sigils appeared on one of the many towers of Yuki's field spell, and a tall powerful mage clad in deep purple armor with golden trimmings rose from the sigils atop the tower. Endymon then leapt from the tower, to land in a rather graceful manner beside the Silent Magicians. **Atk-2700**

"And now that he's out here, his effect kicks off." Yuki explained. "When he's summoned to the field, I can take one spell card from my graveyard, and add it to my hand."

"Well then, while you do that I'll activate my own trap. My second Threatening Roar." Yumei announced, revealing her trap.

Yuki had to shake his head in order to rid his ears of the ringing. "Okay, well I guess it's your move sis."

"Okay." Yumie drew her next card. "Well, I'll play Graceful Charity. Allowing me to draw three cards, but I'll have to discard two … at least I would if I didn't have Ungraceful Charity." Yumei said, flipping up her second trap card. "Now I can get those two other cards back."

"So here's what we're gonna do." Yumei explained. "I'm gonna place two cards face down again, then activate the spell Banner of Courage!"

A red and white banner appeared behind Gilford, when Yumei activated her spell card.

"What it does, is raise all my warrior monsters attack by 200 during my battle phase. Next I'll set a monster in face down defense position, and call it a turn."

"Okay then." Yuki began, as he drew his next card. "I'll activate Nobleman of Crossout. See with this active, I can select one face down defense position monster, and remove it from the game."

A rather regal looking blade appeared on Yuki's field, and impaled Yumei's face down monster.

"Glad you did that, because you walked right into one of my set ups." Yumei had a smirk on her face, which made Yuki nervous. "You just destroyed my unleveled Silent Swordsman. And just like your magician, if he's destroyed, I can bring out a Silent Swordsman monster from anywhere ignoring the summoning conditions. So come out, Silent Swordsman Level Seven!"

The crowd gasped in collective awe, when Yumei's strongest silent warrior appeared on the field. **Atk-2800**

"Now my swordsman attacks your magician!" Yumei declared, as her continuous spell card activated. Raising Silent Swordsman's attack.

Silent Swordsman Level 7 **Atk-3000**

"Not happening sis." Yuki countered. I've got my own Waboku.

"Uh-uh Yuki." Yumei smirked. "Silent Swordsman isn't affected by my opponent's trap cards.

"You'd be right about that normally." Yuki replied. "However this trap is affecting _my_ monsters, not yours so…"

Endymon caught Silent Swordsman's blade with his staff, and deflected the attack, which effectively ended the battle phase.

"Alright fine, but I'll counter your front line, by activating the spell card The Dark Door. Now you can only attack with one monster."

Yuki drew, knowing he would have to be careful. Yumei's silent Swordsman was her absolute favorite ace monster. And despite having been prepared for this particular monster since the start of the duel, he didn't know if Yumei had anything else up her sleeve with Silent Swordsman.

"Alright, I'll activate Endymon's effect." Yuki then explained said effect. "Now by discarding a spell card, I can destroy one active spell card on the field … like say your Dark Door."

Yumei winced, as her spell card was destroyed.

"Alright, time to end this. I activate Magical Dimension once again! Now by sacrificing Silent Magician Level Four, I can special summon Black Magician Girl!" Once again, the golden sarcophagus appeared, and the smaller spellcaster stepped into the sarcophagus.

"And once again, I can destroy one of your monsters. So say goodbye to your Silent Swordsman!" Yumei's monster was sucked into the gold Sarcophagus before it vanished, and Black Magician Girl appeared on the field. **Atk-2000**

"And since there's a Black Magician in my graveyard…" Yuki began with a smirk on his face.

Black Magician Girl **Atk-2300**

"Okay, why get rid of his Silent Magician?" Fujin asked. "It was stronger than Black Magician Girl."

"Because he wanted to get rid of Silent Swordsman." Zane explained. "Yuki's playing smart. He needs to do what he can to get rid of his sister's stronger monsters. Like using Magical Dimension."

"Right! Silent Magician, attack Gilford!" Yuki ordered his monster, who proceeded to blast the powerful warrior away with a large orb of magical energy.

 **Yumei-LP 2800**

"And now Endymon attack's directly!" Endymon pointed his Staff at Yumei, blasting the female twin with another ball of magic energy.

 **Yumie-LP 900**

"Black Magician Girl! Direct attack! Black Burning!" Black Magician girl pointed her staff at Yumei in preparation to end the duel.

"Ngh… not so fast Yu. I have another trap! Magic Javelin. See when you attack me directly, I can increase my life points by the same amount of points as your attacking monster."

"So … it's basically Waboku?" Yuki asked, as Black Magician Girl's attack was absorbed by the javelin.

"Pretty much." Yumei smirked, once Yuki's turn had ended. "Okay, now since it's my turn I activate Cost Down, and after discarding a card, I summon Silent Swordsman Level Five!"

Silent Swordsman Level 5 **Atk-2300**

"Then I activate the spell card Level Up!" Yumei inserted the card into her duel disk. "So my Silent Swordsman Level Seven is coming right back!"

Silent Swordsman Level 7 rose back onto the field, glaring daggers at Yuki. **Atk-2800**

"Alright Yu. Time to end this! I activate my trap card Last Turn!" Yumei announced, revealing her trap card, which drew an excited gasp from the crowd. "Now we each select a monster from our respective fields, and send the others to the graveyard. Neither of us take any damage, and the controller of the last monster standing wins the duel!"

"Alright, then I'll keep my Silent Magician on the field." Yuki responded, while the other two spellcasters vanished from his field.

"And since all I have is my Silent Swordsman, looks like they're gonna be the ones representing us." Yumei said.

"But Yumei will lose if this attack goes through." Fujin began worriedly.

"You're forgetting about Yumei's facedown cards." Zane responded.

The two monsters prepared to attack, before Yumei revealed her second face down card. "And I have Skull Dice! Now depending on the dice roll, your monster loses 100 attack points times the number on the die."

A small little fiend appeared, holding a large six-sided die in his hands. He gave a rather wicked giggle, before dropping the red die. It rolled into the middle of the field, before landing on a 5.

Silent Magician **Atk-3000**

"Now it's definately gonna be a draw!" Alexis was wide-eyed. "Since Banner of Courage will raise Silent Swordsman's attack by 200, making his attack 3000 as well.

Silent Swordsman **Atk-3000**

"Hope you're ready for the result to be a draw sis, because that's exactly what it's gonna be." Yuki explained, as their monsters attacked one another.

Yumei simply smirked, revealing her last face down card. "Nope, because I have Silent Sword Slash!"

"That means!" Alexis began.

"Yumei wins!" Fujin had a smile on her face.

"Then why doesn't Yuki look worried?" Zane asked, keeping his eyes on the field.

Sure enough, Yuki did not look worried. In fact, he had a smirk to match his sister's.

"Okay… what's with that look" Yumei began, before her eyes widened. The golden sarcophagus had appeared on Yuki's field. "Gold Sarcophagus…"

"That's right sis. Remember that card I put in the sarcophagus at the beginning of the duel? Well guess what was in it?" Yuki asked, revealing that he had put Silent Sword Slash in the sarcophagus.

There was a smile on Yumei's face, as she hadn't expected Yuki to plan that far ahead. "Not bad Yu. Not bad at all. Looks like this ends in a draw."

 **Yuki-LP 0000**

 **Yumei-LP 0000**

There was deafening silence throughout the arena for several moments, before the entire arena erupted into applause. Something neither of the twins had expected. However, nobody at the academy hated the result of this duel. The two strongest first year students who had yet to lose a duel, had dueled one another to a stand still in one of the best duels that had taken place at the academy in quite some time.

* * *

"Are you serious!?" Yumei was in a state of shock, as Dr. Crowler presented Yumei with a blue jacket. "But why? I tied?"

"But you didn't lose." Dr. Crowler corrected, with a smile on his face. "And your dueling skills in your promotion duel were remarkable."

"You heard the crowd back there." Chancellor Shepard piped up. "Nobody was disappointed with your duel. I agree with Dr. Crowler, you deserve to be in Obelisk."

Yumei looked like she was about to cry, when she took the blue jacket from Dr. Crowler.


	19. Chapter 19

"Halloween ball?" Both the twins asked when presented with the news. The two were sitting in the outdoor cafe of the Obelisk dorm alongside Kai, Fujin, Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy, and Torimaki. It had been almost a week since Yumei's duel with her twin. And aside from this particular moment of confusion, the smile she had upon receiving her blue jacket had not left her face.

Fujin gave a small nod, before she began to explain. "It's a thing Duel Academy does every year. It's not a formal event, what with it being Halloween."

"So … it's a costume party?" Yuki's tone was almost hopeful.

Kai ruffled Yuki's hair, earning a reproachful look from Fujin, as once again the female Obelisk had just gotten Yuki's pillow hair under control. "Yeah, a lot of people like dressing up in costume. Mostly as their favorite Duel Monster-"

"But Kai always goes as Seto Kaiba." Fujin laughed softly, cutting across Kai.

"Hey, nothing wrong with that." Yuki chuckled.

* * *

"Yuki." Alexis took Yuki's arm to hold him back, as the group of Obelisks broke for the day. "I was wondering…" Her cheeks had lightly tinted, as she posed her question. "I was wondering if you'd like to … attend the Halloween ball with me?"

Yuki's cheeks went as red as they had when Alexis had kissed him. "R-really? Me?"

"Y-yeah…" Alexis blushed. "I really do owe you a lot after you saved me at the abandoned dorm. So-"

Even though Yuki was blushing, he had to stop Alexis from going further. "Alexis, while I'm going to accept. Please let me make something clear. You do not owe me for anything."

"Okay…" Alexis began. "Then will you go with me because I like you?"

Yuki's cheeks darkened. "Y-yeah. I'll go to the Halloween ball with you for that reason … mainly because I-"

"Yuki!" Both Alexis and Yuki jumped in surprise, and Yuki visibly scowled when he saw Lance Osbourne approach.

"What do you want Lance?" Yuki asked curtly. "If this is about what happened during the promotion duel, I hope your not going back on the agreement?"

A visible tick was going in Lance's forehead, as it seemed their agreement did still bother him. "While it does, that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here Lance?" Alexis matched Yuki's curt tone.

"It's … about the Halloween ball." Lance began, and both Obelisks took note of the uncharacteristic look of worry in Lance's voice. "You see, I'm helping to plan the event. And over the last few days, some odd things have been going on?"

Yuki and Alexis shared a look, before turning their attention back to Lance. "What sort of odd things?"

"It'll be easier to show you." Lance said, reaching for his belt to produce his PDA. He brought up the security feed of where the ball was going to take place. The feed in question was of several days prior, when the area in question was still being set up. Both Yuki and Alexis noticed a rather dark shape move across the screen, knocking over ladders and tables as it went. Although, it looked more like the furniture was attempting to get out of the way.

"Okay… that's weird." Yuki began. "And it's creepy. But I have a few questions. Why are you telling this to us? And why didn't you tell Chancellor Shepard?"

"I did." Lance replied. "He told me to come to you. Said that you and your sister were some sort of experts."

"Maybe in the area of shadow games." Yuki responded, continuing to examine the video feed. "But we're not the ghostbusters. I don't know what I can…"

"Yuki?" Alexis sounded rather concerned that Yuki had just let his words fall the way they had.

"You saw it too?" Lance asked, Yuki's expression confirmation enough. He'd seen the shape the spirit had taken.

* * *

"An evil duel spirit?" Yumei asked, helping her twin with the white cape of his costume.

"I'm telling you, that's what I saw." Yuki answered, as his sister finished. She herself was dressed in similar fashion to her duel spirit, the same way Yuki was.

"So what's the plan?" Yumei asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Let it appear, then send it back to hell." Yuki answered in a matter-of-fact tone lifting his duel disk.

"Sounds like a plan." There was an approving look on her face, while Yuki grabbed his duel disk, and deck belt. "Just don't cross the streams."

"It's not the Stay Puft marshmallow man sis." Yuki chuckled, while fighting the urge to laugh. "But I will be careful."

* * *

The night of the Halloween ball, being on Halloween itself, the only people that knew about the spirit were the faculty, Lance, Yuki, Alexis … and their core group of friends. Which was admittedly more people than the faculty wanted who had knowledge of what was going on. However, those who knew about the spirit had agreed to not speak about it.

Students were crowding into the main building as the sun set. Some in costume, others without, however nearly everyone had a date. Fujin and Kai were going to the ball together. The latter was dressed once again as Seto Kaiba, while Fujin was dressed as Guardian Eatos. Much to Torimaki's surprise, Yumei had asked the specticalled Obelisk boy to accompany her. Torimaki had decided to be the Lord of D. However the pairing that turned heads, was Yuki and Alexis. Both of who were in costume. Yuki dressed as his duel spirit Neo, while Alexis had caught everyone including Yuki off guard with her Black Magician Girl costume.

"Nervous?" Alexis asked, she had an arm wrapped around one of Yuki's while she referred to the plan to deal with that evil spirit. However, to anyone who wasn't in on the plan, it sounded like Alexis was referring to herself being Yuki's date.

"A little." Yuki answered honestly, which Alexis responded to by giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Relax Yuki." Alexis gave him an affectionate smile. "You'll be fine."

"Hey." Yumei nudged her twin's arm as she and Torimaki joined the que of people heading into the main building. "Don't focus on what you have to do. Try focusing on the fact you've got one of, if not _the_ prettiest girl at the academy with you."

"She's got a point you know." Sora's smooth voice said from behind both Yuki and Alexis. She'd chosen to dress as Mai Valentine, which surprised absolutely nobody. "Relax and enjoy yourself, focus on what you need to do when the time comes."

"Girls, cut him a break." Alexis interjected, though there was a smile on her face. Despite everything going on, she was enjoying the two telling Yuki to focus on her.

"I've never… done this, you know? The whole dating thing before." Yuki's face was bright red, and it only got brighter when Sora spoke up next.

"Oh? You two are actually dating?"

"Maybe." Alexis replied in a teasing tone, which made Yuki try and hide his face in his free hand.

"You really did set yourself up for that." Torimaki said while trying his best to not laugh, as the group walked up the steps into the main building.

The room the academy was using to host its Halloween party looked like a large ballroom. Lance and the other planners had outdone themselves. Every inch of the room had been decorated. The lighting had been dimmed to a rather inviting shade of orange, the kind of lighting one expected at a Halloween party that also made it feel incredibly inviting. There were tables lined with food, and adorned with Jack-O-Lanturns every few feet, which Lance said that he himself had carved.

"Woah…" Yuki was amazed at what he saw when they entered the ballroom.

"This is amazing." Alexis said, in close to the same tone Yuki had.

"Well, let's not stand around." Yumei said, pulling Torimaki towards the dance floor.

"Would you care to join them?" Yuki asked, which made Alexis smile.

* * *

"I didn't know you could dance." Alexis continued to smile while she danced with Yuki. It was rather shocking, but it was a nice surprise.

"One of the few things I can do well outside of dueling." Yuki replied, and once again his face went red when Alexis rested against his chest. The two were completely unaware that they were drawing jealous looks from those standing on the sidelines.

One of those jealous onlookers being Lance himself. However, he was a man of his word. And had agreed not to bother Alexis, and besides he'd come to Yuki for help with this whole situation. No, best he could do right now, would be to keep his eyes open for that spirit.

' _Come on, show yourself!'_ Lance thought, as he slowly made his way around the edges of the ballroom. The better to keep his eyes on everything, and look for any abnormalities. While keeping out of the way of the attending students.

* * *

"Color me impressed." Fujin had a smile on her face, while Yuki and Alexis left the dance floor to applause from nearly the entire ballroom. "I had no idea you were that good of a dancer."

"I said it earlier." Yuki replied with a smile on his face. "It's one of the few things I can do well that isn't dueling related."

"Isn't having fun better than stressing over the whole situation?" Alexis asked.

"Well thanks for the reminder." Yuki jabbed playfully. "But you're right."

* * *

"Yuki." Yuki nearly jumped out of his skin, upon hearing Lance's voice from somewhere behind him.

"Lance, for god sake!" Yuki hissed, turning to face the Obelisk boy. "I get it's Halloween, but don't sneak up on a guy like that."

"It's Halloween." Lance countered. "It's the time to be scared. Keeps one on their toes. More importantly, it's here."

Yuki felt a chill go down his spine. "Where…?"

"Turn around, and look up. But just use your eyes." Lance replied.

Yuki followed Lance's instructions, looking towards the ceiling just with his eyes. Sure enough, there was the black wisps that was the evil duel spirit. Floating just above the large chandelier in the center of the room.

' _What do we do parter?'_ Neo asked, appearing beside Yuki.

There wasn't long to wait. A strong wind blew through the ballroom, extinguishing the candles inside the Jack-O-Lanturns, and making several of the students attending gasp in surprise. The black wisps that was the evil spirit flew from its perch on the chandelier, landing in the center of the dance floor. Torrents of what looked like black smoke billowed out from the spirit, making several students scream as the smoke washed over them.

Neo, and Silent Swordsman appeared in front of their partners. Deflecting the smoke away from their partners and their dates with their blades.

After several seconds, the smoke retracted. And there was a hooded figure standing in the middle of the dance floor. "...No...I need more…" The spirit's voice was low and raspy.

' _Partner!'_ Neo's spirit gestured, and Yuki's eyes widened. Several of the attending students, that had been touched by the smoke had passed out. Their skin pale, like one would be if they had seen a ghost. One of those students happening to be Lance himself … and Kai, who had jumped in front of the smoke to protect Fujin.

"Cold…" Fujin said, as she checked Kai's pulse. She turned her attention to the spirit, her voice ice cold. "What did you do?"

"...His life force feeds me now..." The spirit said, the bottom of her cloak billowing in an attempt to send out more of the black smoke. "...But I need more…"

"That is not gonna happen." Yuki growled, as the Millenium Ring began to glow. He was so mad right now. This spirit had hurt one of his friends, and ohhhh was he going to make it pay.

"...You're strong…" The spirit sounded excited. "...You could be the last one I need to be complete…"

"Bring it on." Yuki's voice was just as cold as Fujin's, while he grabbed his duel disk. Nobody hurt his friends. Nobody.

' _Hatchling… use us.'_ A voice said in Yuki's head.

"...Interesting…" The spirit said, raising an arm which then morphed into the shape of a wicked looking duel disk.

"I win, you give back everyone you took." Yuki growled, visibly shaking with anger.

"...Agreed…" The spirit acknowledged.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Spirit-LP 4000**

"...I will draw first…" The spirit declared, drawing her six cards. "...I will set a monster in defense position…"

A card appeared horizontally on the spirit's field.

"...I then set this card down, and my turn will end…" The spirit set its chosen card into her wicked duel disk.

"Alright, my draw." Yuki's tone was still ice cold, as he drew his sixth card.

' _Use us hatchling.'_ That same voice said in Yuki's head again.

"No." Yuki said in response to the voice. "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!"

Yuki's blue scaled dragon roared as it appeared on his field. **Atk-1900**

"Now attack that face down monster!" Yuki ordered, and Luster Dragon subsequently blasted the spirit's face down monster away with its flames.

"...My monster's effect now activates…" The spirit said, as she revealed her monster to be Slate Warrior.

"Oh no!" Yuki's eyes went wide, once he realized his mistake.

"...Yes. Now Luster Dragon loses 500 attack points…"

Luster Dragon **Atk-1400**

"Okay… then I'll set two cards face down, and call and end to my shift." Two cards appeared behind Yuki's weakened Luster Dragon, as his turn came to an end.

"...My turn begins. And I will start with my face down. Skill Drain. By paying 1000 life points, all effect monsters summoned after this card's activation are negated…"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Torimaki said in a worried tone.

 **Spirit-LP 3000**

"...I now summon a monster. Goblin Attack Force…"

Several armored goblins appeared on the field in front of the spirit. **Atk-2200**

"...My monster will now attack Luster Dragon…" The spirit ordered their monster.

"Oh no they won't." Yuki growled, flipping one of his face down cards up. "How about it eats a Mirror Force instead!"

"...That is upsetting…" The spirit said, as her monster was destroyed.

"Oh you think that's upsetting?" Yuki asked, as he drew his next card. "Wait until you see what's next! I sacrifice Luster Dragon, and Summon Horus Level Six in attack mode!"

Yuki's metallic looking phoenix roared as he was summoned, landing behind the Obelisk. **Atk-2300**

"Now I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your Skill Drain!" Yuki said, placing the spell card into his duel disk, which made the spirit's cloak billow as its trap card was destroyed.

"...It matters not…" The spirit sounded completely nonplussed by the loss of its trap card.

"Then maybe this will. Horus, attack those goblins!" Yuki ordered, and Horus obeyed with a stream of black fire. The goblins shattered in a cloud of pixels the second they were engulfed by the flames."

 **Spirit-LP 2900**

"...Your monster caused me damage, now I may summon this. Gorz, Emissary of Darkness…"

A humanoid creature with spiky red hair, black armor, a face mask, and curved blades on his wrists appeared on the spirit's field. **Atk-2700**

"Good thing I'm not worried about that." Yuki countered. "Since it won't be strong enough to challenge Horus in a second. See since he destroyed a monster by battle this turn, I can bring out a stronger monster! Rise, Horus Level Eight!"

The strongest version of Yuki's dragon flew about the ballroom, landing behind him, where Level 6 had been moments ago. **Atk-3000**

"...Then I shall switch Gorz into defense mode…" The spirit said, having already drawn its next card, and not setting anything else on her field.

Gorz **Def-2500**

"Alright then, Horus! Blast that monster!" Horus roared, and unleashed a torrent of black fire from its beak, which incinerated Gorz.

"Then I'll set a card down, and call it a turn." Yuki said, placing a card into his duel disk.

"...It is now my turn…" The spirit drew its next card. "...I now remove the three monsters in my graveyard. And I shall summon… myself…"

The dark cloak fell away, and everyone who was still conscious went wide eyed. The spirit was none other than the monster Dark Necrofear. "I should thank you human. You've given me everything I needed to ensure my resurrection."

"How…?" Yuki asked, and thin things clicked for him. Dark Necrofear could only be special summoned by removing three fiend monsters from the graveyard from play.

Dark Necrofear **Atk-2200**

"Okay…" Yuki began, taking a card. "I get rid of this monster, and I can end this. Horus, attack!"

Horus roared, incinerating Necrofear with its black flame.

"Alright!" There was a relieved look on Torimaki's face. "Yuki just sent her back to hell!"

"I hope you're right about that Torimaki…" Yumei said worriedly.

There was the sound of spine chilling laughter, and Necrofear soon appeared on Horus' back. What terrified Yuki however, was when his monster flew to Necrofear's side of the field. "Oh, I should have mentioned something. When you destroy me via battle, I can take control of one of your monsters. Now, lets see how you like it! Horus attack!"

Yuki was blasted off his feet, when he was attacked by his own monster. And it took him a few seconds to get back up. That last attack had hurt.

 **Yuki-LP 1000**

' _Hatchling!'_ The voice in Yuki's head had turned into a roar. ' _If you refuse to use us now, you will die! Use our power!'_

"Come on Yuki." Alexis sounded incredibly worried, while she helped Yuki back upright. "If you want me to step in…"

"No way…" Yuki groaned, while shaking his head. "I don't gamble with my friends on the line, plus there's no way I could forgive myself if something happened to you."

"Yuki…" Alexis sniffled slightly.

"I'll be fine. But Lex, if I was you, I would back up." Yuki held up a spell card, which made Alexis' jaw go slack. "You're in the splash zone."

Yuki slowly approached Necrofear, and the spirit began to smirk.

"Oh, you're approaching me?"

"I can't send you back to hell if I don't get closer." Yuki growled, clutching the spell card.

"Then by all means." Necrofear spread her arms wide from atop Horus. "Come as close as you'd like."

"You might not be saying that in a second. I activate the spell card Dragon Revival Ritual!"

Everyone who was still conscious was shocked when Yuki revealed his next card.

"It works like this: I have to send five dragon monsters to the out of play zone…" The whole room began to shake at Yuki's words. Something big was coming. "And then after I do that, I can summon the most powerful ritual monster in this game. Rise, Mythic Dragon!"

The ground shook all the more, large dragon wings sprouted from the round followed by four different dragon heads. One dark scaled, one white, one blue, another made of pure fire, and the final head was white, and looked to be wearing a crown of spikes. As the fifth head revealed itself, it raised Yuki up so he was standing atop the middle head.

Mythic Dragon roared, which made Necrofear's eyes widen. She was clearly afraid of this monster.

Mythic Dragon **Atk-5000**

"Oh my god…" Yumei had not expected this. "He brought it out…"

"And there's more." Yuki called out from the middle head of Mythic Dragon. "When she's summoned, she nukes my opponent's field!"

"No!" Necrofear screamed, as both she and Horus were blasted away. The spirit glared daggers at Yuki upon reappearing as a semi-transparent spirit.

"It's time to end this!" Yuki declared. "You crossed a line Necrofear! Nobody messes with my friends! NOBODY! Mythic Dragon, burn it down! Mythic Flare!"

Mythic Dragon roared, five different elements combining into one powerful attack. That blast hit a screaming Necrofear, which wiped out the rest of her life points.

 **Dark Necrofear-LP 0000**

The Millenium Ring began to glow, and a bright golden eye appeared on Yuki's forehead. Necrofear screamed again, as the ball room was filled with a bright golden light. Once the light had faded, both Mythic Dragon and Necrofear were gone, and Yuki was back on the floor once again.

"Well … that was fun." Yuki said, picking up the card that he had sealed Necrofear in. "But let's please never do that a-"

Yuki never finished his sentence, when he felt a pair of arms around him. Alexis had nearly tackled him with the hug she gave him.

"I thought I told you, no more crazy stunts like that?" Fujin asked, helping Kai back to his feet. The other students that had been afflicted by Necrofear were starting to regain consciousness. The lights in the Jack-O-Lanturns had re-ignighted, and the warm inviting atmosphere had returned.

"What, and let one of you duel that psychotic monster?" Yuki asked with a slight scoff. "Having my own monster used against me, is worth keeping you guys out of shadow games."

* * *

A short while later, the party was back in full swing. The students Necrofear had affected showed no negative signs, so the party had been allowed to continue. It was a short while after that, that Alexis had pulled Yuki out of the ball room. Wanting to talk to him in private.

"Yuki, you know you didn't have to risk yourself the way you did." She began. "I mean, you put your life on the line again. And this time, it wasn't just for me."

"I… well, myself and my sister know what shadow games are like." Yuki explained. "And, I've seen what happens when people who are inexperienced with shadow games participate in one. It's not pretty, and I don't want you, or really anyone to have to go through that. Not while I can handle it."

Alexis shook her head, but she was smiling. "I do appreciate your bravery, but you can't keep taking the brunt of these shadow games. You're going to have to share the burden one day."

"Then I'm keeping my fingers crossed, that day never comes." Yuki replied, and the two shared a laugh. "We should get back to the party. People are gonna start asking questions if we don't come back soon."

Yuki made to turn back, and make towards the ball room. However, Alexis grabbed his arm and spun him back around. Her lips were against his seconds later, and while it was only for a few moments, their kiss seemed to last forever.

"Now we can get back." Alexis smiled, despite how red her face was.


	20. Chapter 20

It had been close to a week since the Halloween ball, and Yuki's duel with Necrofear. Things had calmed down a considerable deal since, and nobody save a few people had grilled Yuki about his super ace.

"Well at least tell me how you came across it." Kai had a tone close to begging, as he, Yuki, and Torimaki left the boys changing room. Gym class for the Obelisks had just ended, and it being a Wednesday, meant that the Slifers would share a class with the Ra's. The three boys stood to the side, as several students in yellow colored jackets walked past.

"Okay, but lunch is on you today." Yuki relented, as the Ra's passed by, and the three made for the Obelisk dorm. There was an hour break for lunch, before the next block of classes started.

* * *

While the three Obelisks made for their dorm, a rather spirited game of baseball was taking place between the Ra's and the Slifer's, and it was Jaden's turn up at bat.

"Jay, keep your eye on the ball!" Cyrus called from the dugout.

"That's gonna be tough. Afterall, that ball is gonna go sailing over the rafters, and we'll have a 6-run lead!" Jaden replied, his perpetual smile on his face.

"Hold on! Time out!" A voice called from the entrance to the baseball diamond. Both the Ra's and Slifer's looked to see Bastion running in. "Sorry, I was deep into attack quantum mechanics, and I lost track of time!"

"Can you throw?" The Ra on the pitcher mound asked.

"Of course." Bastion replied, with a rather confident smile on his face.

"Good, we need a fresh arm." The Ra said, handing Bastion his glove.

Jaden chuckled, as his friend stepped onto the mound. "This isn't a written exam Bastion. I hope you know what you're doing!"

"Trust me, I've already done all the calculations." Bastion replied, as he readied himself. "Now I hope you're ready for some heat Jaden, because this one has some bite!" Bastion threw, and struck Jaden out three times.

"Nuts…" Jaden groaned.

Afterwards, it was the Ra's turn at bat. Jaden was taking the position of pitcher. And his pitching had made Cyrus call a time out.

"Jaden, what's going on?" cyrus asked, approaching the pitching mound. "You've got two outs, and you walked the last three batters."

"Pretty slick huh?" Jaden smirked rather confidently.

Cyrus was visibly confused. "Slick?"

"Yeah, how else would I get to pitch against Bastion?" Jaden asked, which shocked the smaller Slifer even further.

"You walked all those batters, so you could get even with Bastion?"

"No, I want to get ahead." Jaden replied. "You hear that Bastion, you're going down!"

"Down the baseline perhaps." Bastion replied, pointing his bat at Jaden, before pointing it up in the same manner a professional would when signalling they were going to hit a home run. "Now bring it on. I don't want there to be any excuses when I wallop it out of the ballpark!"

"Game on!" Jaden had fire in his eyes, as he readied himself.

"Game over soon!" Bastion responded, also readying himself.

Close to where the Ra's and Slifer's were playing baseball, Dr. Crowler was absolutely fuming. Had been fuming since the judgement duel. "The Paradox brothers couldn't beat Jaden, Chazz couldn't beat Jaden, I need someone to beat-" Crowler never got to finish his sentence, as a baseball hit him square in the right eye.

"Um… heads up?" Jaden began, as he approached Dr. Crowler who still had the baseball stuck in his eye.

"Of course it was you!" Dr. Crowler screeched, as he sat up. The baseball falling out as he did. "Who else could cause me such intense pain!?"

"Now that's keeping your eye on the ball." Cyrus mused, clearly trying to hold back laughter.

"Sorry, it was-" Jaden began, however he was cut off shortly afterwards.

"My fault! I was the one who hit the ball!" Bastion said, running up seconds later.

"Bastion? Of course, here I was trying to find a new accomplice, and it strikes me right in the face! Well the eye, but that is besides the point." Crowler said, getting to his feet.

"Dr. Crowler, please accept my apologies." Bastion had bowed his head as he spoke.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I've been meaning to have contacts fitted for ages, and now I have an excuse … and a new perfect protege." Crowler said this last bit rather quietly, as he noticed Jaden and Cyrus attempting to listen in. "Alright you two, you've caused enough trouble for today, now go on! Shoo!"

* * *

While enjoying lunch at the Obelisk dorm, Kai continued prodding Yuki about just how he'd gotten his hands on what Yuki called his 'super ace' monster.

"Alright, alright." Yuki relented. The three boys were sitting on the outdoor terrace as they ate. "So there was a small tournament almost directly after Battle City. The winner would get a set of rare cards, and a duel with Pegasus. And there was an added stiplation, that if the winner ended up defeating Pegasus, there would be an added bonus."

"Which was?" Torrimaki asked, having a feeling he knew it was Mythic.

"What do you think?" Yuki replied, holding up his powerful ritual monster card.

* * *

 _A seven year old Yuki was shaking rather nervously. Yes there was no form of crowd, which was a relief for the young boy, however he was facing down Maximillion Pegasus. The man that had created the game of Duel Monsters. The only person that had ever beaten him was Yugi Muoto, and that was because he had Pharaoh Atem with him._

 _Yuki didn't have a Millenium Item like Yugi, or his older brother. It was just him, and his newly constructed dragon deck. How was he going to do this? Especially when he was facing down Pegasus' best monster, and Yuki had no monsters on his field._

 **Yuki-LP 1000**

 **Pegasus-LP 2000**

" _What will you do now Yuki-boy?" Pegasus had his arms outstretched. "I've taken your Curse of Dragon, and added it's attack to my Relinquished._

 _Relinquished_ **Atk-2000**

" _W-well … I guess it's my turn. Draw!" Yuki shakily drew his new card. "Okay, I summon Decoy Dragon in attack mode."_

 _The tiny adorable dragon appeared on Yuki's field._ **Def-300**

" _Is that all Yuki-boy?" Pegasus asked, drawing his next card. He sounded almost disappointed. Then again, he was dueling against a child. Yuki-boy may have been trained by Kaiba-boy, but he was still a child, and it was time to bring this duel to an end._

" _I hope you're ready Yuki-boy, because now my Relinquished attacks." Pegasus' monster charged an attack, courtesy of Yuki's monster. "You're rather skilled Yuki-boy, but all good things must come to an end."_

" _S-sorry Pegasus. But it doesn't end here!" Yuki felt a sudden rush of confidence surge through him. "You attacked my Decoy Dragon, and now his effect activates! I can summon a dragon monster from my graveyard, so I'll bring Tyrant Dragon back in attack mode!"_

 _Tyrant Dragon roared as it reappeared on Yuki's field in front of Decoy Dragon._ **Atk-2900**

" _And now you have to attack Tyrant Dragon instead!"_

 _Tyrant Dragon unleashed a stream of flames from its mouth which incinerated Yuki's Curse of Dragon._

" _Impressive Yuki-boy, however my Relinquished won't be destroyed since it had a monster equipped to him." Pegasus had a smirk on his face, as Yuki's monster was destroyed. "Your monster to be exact, which means you're going to take the damage instead."_

 **Yuki-LP 100**

"But it's my turn now!" Yuki's confidence grew, as he discarded Decoy Dragon. Having to do so due to Tyrant Dragon's effect, before he drew his next card. Not that he would need it. "Now this ends! Tyrant Dragon, destroy Relinquished!"

 _Tyrant Dragon roared, before unleashing another stream of flames from its mouth. The fire engulfed Relinquished, before the monster was blasted away._

 **Pegasus-LP 0000**

" _Very impressive Yuki-boy." There was a smile on Pegasus' face, as his duel disk deactivated. "Kaiba-boy taught you well, though I'm rather surprised someone as young as you made it this far. But that just speaks to your skill as a duelist."_

 _Pegasus was quickly presented an open metallic attache case by one of his personal assistants, which the man quickly opened. Pegasus reached inside, and pulled out two cards. "Since you were able to defeat me, these cards belong to you. This ritual monster is the only one of its kind, as is the spell card you'll need to summon it."_

 _Yuki's eyes widened as he saw the powerful ritual monster he'd been presented with. It looked exactly like the fusion monster that was currently in his deck._

* * *

Torimaki's glasses nearly fell off when Yuki finished his story. "You have the fusion in your deck too!?"

"Shhh!" Yuki looked around, making sure nobody else had overheard that. "I don't want people to know I have them. I've only brought Mythic out when I absolutely need to … or when I've been incredibly angry."

Kai frowned slightly at this little piece of news. "Why to both?"

Yuki took a deep breath, and let out a sigh shortly after. "Because whenever I summon her, people get hurt. I summoned her …. Three times before Halloween, although one really shouldn't count."

"And why is that?" Kai asked, now genuinely curious, though that frown was still on his face.

"What do you mean?" Yuki asked, turning his attention to the older Obelisk.

"Why doesn't one of those times count?" Kai asked.

"Oh, okay I might lose you with this." Yuki began. "But that one time that shouldn't count, was because I was reliving events five-thousand years in the past."

"The whole Pharaoh's memory thing?" Kai asked, earning a nod from Yuki seconds later.

"Yup, and the other time was right before Jaden and Cyrus' judgement duel." Yuki supplied. "And those two Obelisks are _still_ in the infirmary.

"So you got backed into a corner on Halloween." Torimaki began counting off the times Yuki had summoned Mythic Dragon. "I'm guessing you were angry the time before."

"Yup, and it was a combination of both five thousand years ago." The three boys snickered at that remark, before Yuki spoke once again. "And the first time, I was angry. Which was during that whole deal with the Orichalcos. So you can see why I have an aversion to bringing that monster out."

"Well maybe you need to find something to balance it." Kai said before getting to his feet. "But we'll have to put a pin in this for now. Classes are gonna start up again soon, and you guys have Dr. Crowler's class."

"Right." Yuki said, getting to his feet, and placing Mythic Dragon back in his deck box. "Don't wanna be late for that. He hates tardyness … which might be why he gets so irritated with Jaden so much."

"Well there's that, and he's always sleeping in Crowler's classes." Torimaki added. "If he could stay awake in class, he'd probably be an Obelisk by now."

"And it still drives me nuts, he didn't take that promotion to Ra." Yuki shook his head, as the three made their way out of the Obelisk dorm, and towards the main building. "I mean he beat Chazz for crying out loud."

"Well he was one of the first." Kai said with a shrug. "And I hear since then, Chazz's reputation has been taking a massive plunge."

"If that's the case…" Yuki began, before he stopped himself. Not sure of how to phrase the next part of his statement. "Hang on, can … can people get demotion matches here?"

"It's not a common occurance." Kai began, while the three ascended the steps to the main building. "But it happens every so often. And if Chazz isn't careful, it'll be what happens to him."

* * *

Yuki felt his eyes roll when he saw Chazz swagger into Dr. Crowler's classroom, as if the spiky dark haired Obelisk owned the entire academy.

"How can someone who has lost every duel he's been in walk around with so much swagger?" Yuki asked, and Torimaki who had heard his comment simply shrugged.

"Yo." Chazz had the smarmiest smile on his face, while making his way towards the Obelisk section of the classroom. "Ice tea, foot rub. Now."

"Get it yourself." Another Obelisk replied with a disgusted not in their voice.

"What did you say?" Chazz looked to the Obelisk, wondering just who this guy was, and where he had the gall to talk to him in such a disrespectful manner.

"Chazz, where do you think you're going?" Another Obelisk asked.

"My seat." Chazz fixed the other Obelisk with a look suggesting that he must have been an idiot.

Yuki made no attempt to hide or muffle the laughter that came in response to Chazz's answer. "That's not your seat anymore." He then pointed to where the Slifer's and Ra's were sitting. "You got moved over there."

"What!?" Chazz was shocked at this revelation, just as Dr. Crowler walked into the classroom. "Dr. crowler, tell me this is a mistake! Tell them that I belong up here!"

"But you don't." Dr Crowler narrowed his eyes at Chazz. "And you haven't since you lost to … who was it again? Ah yes, Jaden Yuki. A Slifer! Which is why tomorrow you will duel Bastion Misawa, and should you happen to lose, the two of you will switch dorms."

Chazz felt his stomach drop. "You mean … I'd become a Ra yellow…?"

"Very good." Dr Crowler spoke as though he was talking to a toddler. "Now if only you could duel as well as you listen."

The entire class burst out in laughter, as Chazz ran out of the classroom. "NO! I WON'T BE A RA!"

* * *

"Good for you Bastion." Yuki clapped the Ra on the shoulder once classes had ended. Yuki had joined Jaden and Cyrus while the three joined Bastion in heading towards the Ra dorms. "If anyone deserves to wear the blue jacket, it's you."

"That means a great deal coming from you." Bastion smiled.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't a foul." Jaden piped up, still stuck on what happened during the baseball game the Slifer's had against the Ra's.

Cyrus smiled, as Yuki shook his head at his friend's comment. "Jaden, over the center field wall usually isn't."

"Look." Bastion began. "I play how I duel, with formulas." The Ra student held up his own baseball bat, showing that it had multiple formulas written on it. "I find that science, statistics, and geometry play a role with everything I do in life."

"Y'know, I never thought of it like that." Jaden said.

"Do you have a formula for everything?" Cyrus asked, as the four boy's reached the Ra dorms.

Bastion merely smiled, as he led his three friends to his bedroom. "Here we are."

"Your dorm room?" Yuki asked with a curious look, before his eyes widened. Bastion opened the door to his room, revealing that every wall was covered with mathematic equations. "Woah…"

"My workplace, my lab, my dorm room." Bastion said, pointing out different spots of his room. "That area is for traps, there is for spells, and… well you get it. Most of these I've memorized, and as you can see, I'm running out of room. So…"

"So…?" The three boys asked, before Bastion grabbed some brushes and paint.

"So, mind helping?" Bastion asked.

Yuki chuckled, and was about to take one of the brushes, when he noticed something on Bastion's desk. The Ra had left his laptop on, and was watching a duel. A duel that Yuki was rather familiar with. "Hey! I know this duel!"

"Ah, that one." Bastion walked up to Yuki as he spoke. "It's an older duel."

"Older duel?" Yuki asked. "Bastion, this was last week."

"Who's dueling?" Jaden asked, peeking over Bastion and Yuki's shoulders to get a look at the screen. "They don't look like guys from Duel Academy."

"Because they aren't." Both Jaden and Bastion replied simultaneously.

"It's a duel from North Academy." Bastion explained. "Duel Academy's rival."

"And one of the guys dueling uses dragons like me." Yuki pointed to the screen, pointing to a North Academy student with rather short hair, wearing the standard dark overcoat that consisted of North Academy's uniform. "He's really good. His name is Jackson Corvus. He's got a great ace monster called Felgrand Dragon. It's so strong, that only three copies were ever made. Jackson has two of them."

"What about the third?" Bastion asked.

"I had it." Yuki sighed, looking down. "I say had, because I can't find it anywhere. I don't know if I left it at home, or if I misplaced it in one of my dorms. Either here, or in my old Slifer dorm. But it's eating me that I can't find it."

"Hey, cheer up." Jaden placed a comforting hand on Yuki's shoulder. "You'll find that sweet monster eventually. But let's see how this duel plays out."

On the screen, Jackson was dueling a rather larger student who was built far more athletically than Jackson. On his field were two powerful monsters. Zoa and Metal Zoa.

"Alright Czar, I hope you're ready to go down a rank." Jackson growled, summoning Decoy Dragon.

The larger student, Czar laughed. "When I am done with you, there will be no place for you to go! Zoa, attack that pathetic excuse for a dragon!"

Jackson shook his head smirking. "You really are an idiot Czar. How many times do I have to teach you this lesson? When you attack Decoy Dragon, his effect activates which allows me to summon a level 7 dragon monster from my graveyard!"

"Here it comes." Yuki said excitedly.

"Let the light of the heaven's shine down! ROAR AND TAKE FLIGHT! DIVINE DRAGON LORD FELGRAND!"

Everyone had to shield their eyes, as the screen became very bright when Jackson summoned his monster. As the light died down, they boys got a look at Felgrand Dragon. She was a rather powerful looking dragon, with bright gold scales. **Atk-2800**

"Oh and don't forget Czar, when she's summoned from the graveyard, I get to banish one of your monsters, and then add their level to their attack points! So say goodbye to your Metal Zoa!"

Lord Felgrand roared, and made Czar's monster vanish in a flash of bright light. And that caused the monster's attack to rise.

Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand **Atk-3500**

"Oh but wait, there's more." Jackson continued. "Since you attacked Decoy Dragon, your attack has to switch to Felgrand! Which means, your monster goes bye bye!" Lord Felgrand roared, and unleashed a stream of golden flames from her mouth, which destroyed Czar's Zoa.

 **Czar-LP 1000**

"But I'm not done yet, thanks to Lord Felgrand's effect, I can summon another monster from my graveyard." Jackson said, taking his chosen card from his graveyard. "Rise and take flight! Felgrand Dragon!"

Once again the boys had to shield their eyes as Jackson summoned yet another gold scaled dragon. **Atk-2800**

"Now I can remove another monster to increase her attack by double their level!"

Felgrand Dragon **Atk-4200**

"Now it's over! To take a page out of a Duel Academy student, burn it down!" Felgrand, direct attack!"

"That was amazing!" Cyrus was awed at the result of Jackson's duel with Czar, before he turned his attention to Yuki. "You have one of his monsters?"

" _Had_ one of his monsters." Yuki corrected. "Like I said, I don't know where it is."

"Well keep your chin up Yuki." Bastion reassured. "You'll find it eventually. However, until then." Bastion chuckled, handing the Obelisk a paintbrush.

* * *

That evening, Chazz was holding a video call with his two brothers, Slade and Jagger Princeton on the large flatscreen in Chazz's dorm.

"Got it Chazz?" Slade asked, his eyes narrowed at his younger brother.

"Yeah." Chazz's response was almost under his breath.

"We can't hear you!" Jagger said, rather loudly.

"I said I got it!" Chazz snapped.

"Well you better. Your brother and I are going through with our end of it." Slade's tone of voice sounded like he was threatening his younger brother.

"And you better be following through on your end as well." Jagger took over. "Just think about it little brother. The world of politics, finances, and Duel Monsters! If the Princeton family rises to the top in all three, we can control the world!"

"So be the best!" Slade growled, before ending the video call.

Chazz growled, walking to the large window of his dorm room to see Jaden, Cyrus, and Bastion heading towards the Slifer Dorms, missing seeing Yuki make for his dorm. ' _Be the best … how can I be the best, when lucky punks like them around?'_ Chazz thought bitterly, before a rather evil thought crept into his mind. ' _Wait … it looks like Bastion is heading towards the Slifer dorm for the night … which means his dorm will be empty.'_

* * *

A short time later, Yuki was walking out of the showers. A towel wrapped around his shoulders, and wearing a pair of shorts and professional wrestling t-shirt. He was about to enter his dorm, when someone called out to him.

"Yuki!"

Whirling around, Yuki quickly found himself face to face with Kai … which made him jump back a bit. "Kai?"

Kai paused for a moment in what he wanted to tell his friend. "You kinda look like Samoa Joe right now…" Kai shook his head, as Yuki's choice of attire was neither here nor there. "Nevermind that, you gotta follow me!"

"Another duel you have lined up for me?" Yuki chuckled.

"No, I just saw Chazz heading towards the Ra dorm!" Kai replied.

"Wait what!?" Yuki sputtered, he vanished into his dorm to grab his duel disk, one of his decks, and the Millenium ring. "We gotta stop him! He's probably gonna try and mess with Bastion's deck because of their duel tomorrow!"

"Then we gotta move!" Both Yuki and Kai quickly ran out of the Obelisk dorm, attempting to follow Chazz.

* * *

By the tim Yuki and Kai had caught up to Chazz, it was only in time to see him toss something into the water by the docks close to the Slifer dorms.

"There won't be a duel if Bastion doesn't have a deck." Chazz grinned maliciously. "He might even get kicked out."

"So that's how it is huh?" A rather angry voice said from behind Chazz. Turning around, the rich Obelisk saw Kai and Yuki were blocking his path.

"How can you do that to someone else's deck?" Yuki had murder in his voice as he spoke. "If this is how you act when you don't get what you want, there's no place for you here. You should just leave the school."

"Nobody tells me what to do!" Chazz snarled, grabbing his duel disk.

"I just did. And now I'm gonna teach you what happens when you mess with someone else's cards." Yuki growled, inserting his deck into his duel disk.

"DUEL!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Chazz-LP 4000**

"So, I'll draw first." Chazz sneered, taking his sixth card. He smirked maliciously once again, glancing at his hand. "I'll start things off with a bang! I banish X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal tank, and summon XYZ Dragon Cannon!"

"Wait what!?" Yuki asked, looking to Kai. "That can be done!?"

"Yeah." Kai said grimly. "The card text says to just banish the above monsters. Never stating they have to be on the field."

"That's not good…" Yuki said rather nervously, as Chazz's fusion monster appeared in front of him.

XZY Dragon Cannon. **Atk-2800**

"I'll call it a turn there." Chazz sneered. "Let's see what you can do about it dragon boy. Oh, and something else. I don't like you getting special treatment, and especially you getting a powerful dragon monster like that Blue Eyes Kai gave you. So after I end your undefeated streak, I'm taking that dragon."

"There's no chance in hell you'll ever touch my Blue Eyes." Yuki growled, drawing his next card. "And there's no way in hell you're winning this duel! I activate the spell card Dark Hole!"

"Wait, what!?" Chazz sounded panicked as his monster was sucked into a black hole, leaving him utterly defenseless.

"Now I'll set one card, and summon Hannibal Necromancer!"

Yuki's new monster was a blue skinned demonic looking creature, with razor sharp claws. **Atk-1400**

"Get ready Chazz, because I'm ending this duel right here! Hannibal Neromancer, direct attack!" Yuki ordered his monster, who slashed Chazz across the chest.

 **Chazz-LP 2600**

"Really?" Chazz groaned, getting back to his feet since Yuki's attack had knocked him off his feet. "So much for ending this duel in one attack."

"Whoever said I only had one attack?" Yuki countered, revealing his face down card. "Reverse card open! Berserker Soul!"

"Berserker Soul…?" Chazz asked.

"Let explain how this works." Yuki explained glaring daggers at Chazz. "First I have to discard all the cards in my hand. Then I draw until I reach a card that is not a monster. However, for each monster I draw, I can continuously attack you with a monster that has 1500 or less attack points!"

It was then something clicked for Chazz. "1500 or less… wait!"

Hannibal Necromancer **Atk-1400**

"You planned that from your first turn."

"And now you're gonna learn what happens when you make me angry! Get ready Chazz, because here comes the first card! Draw!"

Magical Exemplar.

"A monster card! Magical Examplar goes to the graveyard, which means my monster can attack!" Yuki declared, discarding his monster while Hannibal Necromancer slashed Chazz with his claws once again.

 **Chazz-LP 1200**

"Here comes the second card! Draw!"

Crusader of Endymon

"A monster card!" Once again, Yuki's monster slashed Chazz.

 **Chazz-LP 0000**

"Draw!"

Magician's Valkyria

"Monster card!"

 **Chazz-LP -1400**

"Draw!"

Dark Valkyria

"Monster card!"

 **Chazz-LP -2800**

"Draw! Monster-"

"Yuki, that's enough!" Kai grabbed Yuki's arm, preventing him from discarding his next card.

"Let go of me!" Yuki growled.

"The duel is over." Kai said calmly, glancing at Chazz who was lying on the ground in a heap. "Chazz ran out of life points a while ago. It's just overkill at this point."

Yuki took a few deep breaths, and lowered his arm with his new card, which shocked him as it was Neo The Magic Swordsman. He'd been that close to discarding his partner had Kai not stopped him.

' _Partner?'_ Neo asked, placing a hand on Yuki's shoulder as he manifested.

"You good now?" Kai asked, giving his friend a small shake. "You get all that out of your system?"

It was a few moments before Yuki spoke up. "...Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"Come on." Kai said. "We'll report this to Dr. Crowler before the duel."

With one last harsh glare with Chazz, Yuki followed after Kai. He'd make sure Dr. Crowler knew exactly what had happened the next day.

* * *

That next morning Jaden, Cyrus, Chumley, and Bastion who had stayed with the three other Slifer's as all of his belongings bed included were lining the halls of the Ra dorm while the fresh paint dried, were woken up by frantic pounding on the door. "Jaden! Jaden!"

Quickly getting out of his bed, Jaden made haste to open the door, revealing the person on the other side was the owner of the academy card shop. "What's up Ms. Dorothy?"

"I was unloading supplies from the docks, when I saw them … cards tossed everywhere!" Dorothy explained, making all four students gasp before they all made their way to the docks. And upon arriving, Dorothy's claims were proven true. There were cards scattered in the water.

"That's Ring of Destruction." Jaden said.

"And Vorse Raider!" Cyrus gasped, fishing the card out of the water.

"Bastion." Jaden had a horrified look as he turned to the Ra. "These are all your cards!"

Bastion shook his head, upon this revelation. "It's my own fault. I left my deck in my desk when we moved everything into the hallway after painting it."

"Who would do something like this?" Cyrus asked.

"Someone who doesn't want you to be promoted to Obelisk." Jaden voiced his suspicion while Bastion fished more cards out of the water. "What are you gonna do? You duel is in less than an hour."

"Leave it to me." Bastion replied, before he made for his dorm.

* * *

At the main dueling arena, Chazz was waiting with Dr. Crowler before Bastion, Jaden, and Cyrus came running in.

"Bastion, you made it. And I see you brought some friends." Dr. Crowler gave a rather irritated look towards the Slifer's.

"I hope you duel better than the company you keep." Chazz sneered.

"Wait, Chazz is your opponent?" Jaden began. "Bastion, he must be the one who tossed your cards into the ocean."

"Pardon?" Crowler asked, rather confused.

"I don't know what he's talking about Dr. Crowler. I didn't do a thing." Chazz replied in an attempt to sound innocent.

"That's untrue, and you know it!" A rather angry voice called out. Alexis and Zane entered, closely followed by Yuki and Kai. With Kai being the one who had spoken.

"Chazz, I saw Kai and Yuki chase you down to the docks after you threw something into the ocean." Alexis crossed her arms over her chest. "Normally, I don't snitch. But you don't mess with someone else's cards."

Jaden fixed Chazz with a glare. "That's low even for you."

"Oh come on, who's to say I wasn't tossing my own cards into the ocean?" Chazz shrugged. "I guess Bastion and I have similar decks."

"Bullshit!" Both Yuki and Kai had cursed.

"We were there Chazz!" Kai growled.

"I took you down with only three cards!" Yuki's comment shocked Jaden, and intrigued both Dr. Crowler and Zane.

"Wait, you two dueled?" Jaden asked his friend.

"We saw the whole thing." Zane piped up. "Chazz never stood a chance."

"Nobody calls me a liar, or a thief!" Chazz growled. "And you have no proof of anything!"

"Fine, you're not, and we don't." Bastion said, stepping onto the main dueling platform. "Let's just duel."

"But how?" Jaden was visibly confused.

"A good duelist always has a spare deck … or a few." Bastion began. "You saw all the formulas in my room, well they're all for different decks. One for each attribute!" Bastion unzipped his jacket, revealing six different deck boxes.

Chazz growled seeing as his plan had failed. "Yeah, well you can keep your six crummy decks. As for me, all I need is this one!"

Bastion grabbed his duel disk, slipping it onto his left arm, before placing one of his six decks into the deck slot. "You're just a problem to be solved Chazz. A code to be cracked. You're finished!"

"Bring it on!" Chazz growled.

"Duel!"

 **Bastion-LP 4000**

 **Chazz-LP 4000**

"Get ready, because here comes the hurt! I summon Chtonian Soldier in attack mode!" Chazz declared, summoning a soldier in dark colored armor. **Atk-1200**

"I'll place one card face down, and that'll do it." The Obelisk said, inserting the card into his duel disk.

"Oh will it now?" Bastion asked, drawing his next cards.

"Sounds like Bastion already has a trick of his sleeve." Alexis said.

"He works fast." Jaden smiled.

"I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode! Rise Hydrogeddon!" Bastion said, as a dark brown dinosaur-like creature appeared on his field. **Atk-1600**

"Now attack Chtonian Soldier with Hydro Gust!" Bastion ordered his monster, who let out a stream of muddy water from its mouth, destroying Chazz's monster.

 **Chazz-LP 3600**

"Yeah? Well when you destroy my soldier, his effect kicks off! You take the same amount of damage I do!" Chazz sneered.

 **Bastion-LP 3600**

"Not bad." Zane said, crossing his arms.

"Bastion walked right into that one." Kai shook his head.

"I have a special ability also. You see, whenever Hydrogeddon destroys a monster by battle I can summon another from my deck! Rise, Hydrogeddon!" Bastion said, summoning another of his dinosaur-like monster. "Now attack directly! Hydro Gust!"

Chazz growled as Hydrogeddon's attack hit him square in the stomach, forcing him onto one knee.

 **Chazz-LP 2000**

"Now that was a smart move." Yuki had a smile on his face. "It cost him a little damage, but he got to wage a direct attack."

"And, Bastion is ahead now!" Alexis added while catching Yuki's eye. The two smiled at one another, before quickly looking away, both blushing like fools, as they still both remembered the kiss Alexis had given him on Halloween.

"You'll pay for that!" Chazz groaned as he got back to his feet. "I activate my trap card; Call of the Haunted! It lets me summon a monster from my graveyard! And I chose my Chtonian Soldier! Next I activate the spell card Infernal Reckless Summon! It allows us to summon as many monsters from our hand, deck, or graveyard that have the same name as another monster on the field!"

Two more dark armored soldiers appeared on Chazz's field, while another Hydrogeddon appeared on Bastion's.

"It doesn't matter how many of those soldiers Chazz summons. They still don't have the strength to take down those Hydrogeddon's." Alexis frowned.

"Not on their own they won't." Zane said.

"Next I activate the equip card Chtonian Alliance!" Chazz smirked as he slid the card into his duel disk. "The equipped monster gains 800 atack points for each monster on the field with the same name! Bringing his attack points up to … well you're the math whizz,you figure it out."

Chtonian soldier **Atk-3600**

"3600… that's not good." Kai frowned.

"Attack one of those Hydrogeddon's!" Chazz's super powered monster brought his blade down on one of the Hydrogeddon's, destroying it, and bringing Bastion's life points down in the process.

 **Bastion-LP 1600**

"Bastion's life points have gone down by more than half…" Jaden said rather worriedly.

"He's losing the duel." Cyrus sounded just as worried as Jaden

"Bravo, good show." Bastion began, drawing a card. "However, it'll be short lived. Go Oxygeddon!"

A green pteradactyl appeared in a gust of wind on Bastion's field. **Atk-1800**

"Now Oxygeddon, attack the 1200 Chtonian Soldier with Vapor Stream!" Oxygeddon unleashed a stream of green water at high-velocity at Chazz's monster, which subsequently destroyed it.

"Forget, whenever my soldiers ae destroyed, you take the same amount of damage I do?" Chazz asked rather confidently.

 **Bastion-LP 1000**

"My turn's not done yet, my Hydrogeddon will attack your other soldier!" Bastion declared, as one of his Hydrogeddon's attacked the second of the 1200 attack Chtonian soldiers … which caused Bastion's life points to drop again.

 **Bastion-LP 600**

"Aw man, why does Bastion keep attacking?" Cyrus asked. "He's only hurting himself."

"He's fine." Both Jaden and Yuki reassured their friend.

"Bastion's playing smart." Zane began. "The Chtonian Soldier with the equip card has 3600 attack points. Bastion would have to summon an incredibly powerful monster to destroy it. Unless however…"

Chazz's Chtonian soldier shrunk, as his allies were destroyed. **Atk-2000**

"Lastly, I'll set a card face down. That will do for now." Bastion said, inserting his chosen card into his duel disk.

"Will it? I wouldn't be so sure whizz kid." Chazz drew, smirking. "I sacrifice my Chtonian Soldier along with all the cards in my hand, and summon the Infernal Incinerator!"

Chazz's monster was engulfed in a ball of flames, and when the flames dissipated the Chtonian Soldier was replaced by a rather fiendish looking creature with the soldier on the top. **Atk-2800**

"Better break out your calculator, because if you can't figure out a way to beat this guy on this turn, you're through." Chazz began to laugh.

"Bastion is in very serious trouble." Yuki said, now very worried for his friend.

"One attack from that, and he's done for." Alexis said, sharing Yuki's worried tone and gripping one of his hands.

"Face it Bastion, you have no chance against my Infernal Incinerator. Especially since it gains 200 attack for every monster on your field!" Chazz laughed once again, as his monster powered up.

Infernal Incinerator **Atk-3400**

"Oh it just got worse…" Yuki groned, feeling Alexis squeeze his hand.

"Attack with Firestorm Blast!" Chazz ordered his monster, who let a stream of fire towards Bastion's monsters.

"Bastion!" everyone present, Crowler being the exception cried out.

"I activate my trap card; Amorphis Barrier!" Several pillars of ice appeared in front of Bastion's monsters, blocking Chazz's attack. "When I have three or more monsters on my field, it negates your attack and ends the battle. Nice try though."

"Big deal, you bought yourself one lously turn." Chazz growled.

"I'm afraid there won't be a next turn." Bastion replied, as he drew his next card. "I activate the spell Bonding H2O, and sacrifice the two Hydrogeddon's and my Oxygeddon, and summon Water Dragon!"

A large geyser of water engulfed the three monsters, leaving a serpentine dragon composed of water in their place. **Atk-2800**

"And since the number of my monsters has gone down, so does the attack of your Infernal Incinerator!"

Infernal Incinerator **Atk-3000**

"Doesn't matter, my monster's attack is still higher than yours." Chazz huffed.

"Better double check, because I've already done all the math." Bastion replied.

"All the math!?" Crowler's eyes widened.

"You mean Bastion had all this planned out from the start?" Jaden asked completely shocked.

Water Dragon created a giant tidal wave, which crashed into Infernal Incinerator. Draining all of its power.

Infernal Incinerator **Atk-0000**

"Water Dragon's special ability. When he's on the field, the attack of all fire and Pyro type monsters instantly become zero. Now attack, Tidal Blast!" Water Dragon unleashed a torrent of water from its mouth. It hit Infernal Incinerator, went through it and hit Chazz which sent the Obelisk hurdling off the main dueling platform, and dousing the whole arena.

 **Chazz-LP 0000**

"Well played Chazz, but not good enough." Bastion said, as his friends rushed up to congratulate him.

"Pure luck." Chazz spat bitterly. "You drew a lucky card, and stumbled into victory."

"Perhaps. But luck favors the prepared, and I was prepared to beat you with half a dozen other cards in my deck. Sorry, but you would have lost. Deny it all you want. Just like you denied throwing my deck into the ocean." Bastion crossed his arms over his chest.

"Prove it." Chazz spat once again.

"Very well." Bastion reached into his pocket, and pulled out a Vorse Raider card with a half washed formula on it. "A card I fished out, with a formula I wrote. I suppose you could have written it, but the math probably would have been wrong. Chazz you lied, you cheated, and you ultimately lost. You deserve to be demoted."

Chazz let out a scream of anger, as he repeatedly hit the ground. "This can't be happening to me!"

"Bastion Misawa, congratulations and welcome to Obelisk." Dr. Crowler was beaming as he approached the Ra.

"Thank you Dr. Crowler, but I must decline." Bastion replied.

"What? But why?" Crowler asked, clearly shocked.

"When I entered Duel Academy, I made a promise that I would only enter Obelisk when I became the best student among the freshman course." Bastion said, before turning to Yuki. "Out of all those students, I believe that student is you Yuki."

Yuki smiled at the compliment his friend had given him. "That means a lot coming from you. Whenever your ready Bastion, even if it means I have to wear the yellow jacket again. I'll gladly take it, if it means putting you in Obelisk. But until then…" Yuki held out his fist.

"Until then." Bastion returned, bumping Yuki's fist, before they all left the arena.

"Hey, you won today." Yuki said. "So you're getting breakfast at the Obelisk dorms."

"Well, I'll accept after all that's happened." Bastion laughed, as Yuki took one last look at Chazz, who was still pounding the ground in anger.

' _Maybe a little time in Ra will teach you some humility Chazz'_


	21. Chapter 21

"So." Yuki began, before taking his place across from Bastion. The two were sitting on the outdoor terrace of the Obelisk dorms, Yuki having treated his friend to lunch that particular day. "How's he taking it?"

Bastion gave a small huff of laughter, as Yuki took his seat. "Like a petulant child. He's been growling like a wounded bear ever since that day."

"Well after what he did." Alexis said, taking a seat next to Yuki. "I say he more than deserves it."

"Oh I couldn't agree more." Yumei sat down seconds later at their table, handing out trays of food to her twin, and her friends. Lunch today consisted of a rather delicious turkey dinner.

"You two might want to go easy on that." Alexis chuckled noting just what was on the menu today. "I mean, you're just one victory away from scoring the entire dorm that holliday dinner."

Yuki paused, before looking to his twin sister. There was a rather spirited tag tournament taking place across the island. Or rather there was, as Yuki and Yumei had breezed rather quickly through most of the competition to the finals. The school was buzzing like crazy about the Hyoudou twins teaming up. They were strong on their own, however teamed up, they looked almost invincible.

"She's got a point." Yuki began, before his stomach growled. "On the other hand…"

"Jaden says you can't duel on an empty stomach." Yumei shrugged, really resisting the urge to laugh at her twin's hunger. Though the two did agree with Jaden's sentiment, as they began to eat.

"Well Jaden's right, especially because the two of you are facing off against Kai and Fujin." Alexis wanted to sound supportive, despite the fact both Kai and Fujin were the strongest two second year students. But Yuki and Yumei were the strongest first year students at the academy, and they had yet to lose a duel. It was a tough decision for Alexis on deciding who to root for in this upcoming duel, as all four participants were her friends … plus there were her growing feelings for Yuki.

* * *

"You ready for this?" Yumei asked her twin a short while later. The two were in a preparation room in the main dueling arena, that was beginning to fill up. The excitement for this duel amongst the students was as big as Yumei's duel against Yuki.

"I'll be fine." Yuki sighed, as he made some last minute adjustments to his deck courtesy of his older brother. He knew Yumie was mentioning his uneasiness when it came to crowds, though it was something he seemed to have under control thanks to Kai's teaching and advice. "We've dueled them before."

"That's a dangerous way of thinking Yu." Yumei frowned crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's why I'm editing my deck." Yuki replied to his twin. "They'll be expecting Tyrant and Blue Eyes, so I'll need to avoid using them unless-"

"You absolutely need to." Yumei finished.

"Bingo." Yuki smiled, before reaching into his bag. Grabbing his duel disk, and something else. "Oh, Yuri sent this for you."

"What is…?" Yume scoffed, as she got a good look at the Burn It Down shirt that matched her twin brothers. "Oh Yuri… Well if we're gonna duel as a team, we might as well match."

* * *

The arena was filling up for this duel with the same excitement for the duel between the Hyoudou twins. The hype for this duel between the strongest second year students, and the two strongest and undefeated first year students was real. So much so, that Chancellor Shepard wondered if he should have sold tickets. Or at the very least broadcast it through the uplink all duel disks had to the Kaiba Corp network.

Dr. Crowler was smirking to himself. The winner of this tag duel would be awarded with a large holiday turkey dinner for their entire dorm. And all four participants were in his dorm. ' _Perfect! The only dorm in the finals is mine, no delicious food for Ra and especially those Slifer Slackers!'_

Clearing his throat, Crowler made his way to the dueling ring once he was sure every student had a seat. "Ladies and gentlemen, the following tag duel is to determine which dorm is going to which dorm will be rewarded with the large holiday dinner, that this particular tournament was held for … and seeing as all four duelists are in Obelisk, a special stipulation has been added that the victorious team may choose either to claim their prize or give it to another dorm."

' _Which had better not happen. I mean who would choose that option?'_ Crowler thought, before shaking his head. "As with the judgement duel, both teams will start with a total of 8000 life points. There will be no sharing of strategy once the duel begins. However, both teams may use whatever cards their partner has that are currently in play. Now please allow me to introduce the first team to make it to the finals. Duel Academy's strongest second year students: Fujin Hibiki, and Kai Murassame!"

The students of Obelisk cheered harder than any other students in attendance as the two second year Obelisks made their way into the main dueling arena.

Once Kai and Fujin stepped up to Dr. Crowler, excited murmuring echoed about the arena. The Hyoudou twins were the next to enter.

"And introducing their opponents: Yuki and Yumei Hyoudou!"

' _ **BURN IT DOWN!'**_

Every single student and even a few teachers in attendance yelled out those three words, as Yuki's music echoed loudly about the arena. The crowd roared in applause, as the twins made their way towards the main dueling platform.

"Now the two of you look like a team." Fujin smiled, seeing that both of the twins had the same shirts on beneath their white and blue jackets.

"Oh you have no idea just how good a team we are." Yumei smirked, clapping a hand on her twins shoulder.

"I could say the same thing about us." Kai countered, readying his duel disk. "I won't be using an experimental deck this time Yuki."

"Good, because I made some edits." Yuki countered, holding up his own duel disk.

"Duelists prepare for battle!" Crowler spoke into his mic, before stepping off the platform.

"Ready?" Yumei asked, sliding her deck into her duel disk.

"Oh yeah." Yuki gave a nod, mirroring his twin sister.

"Duel!"

 **Yuki and Yumei LP-8000**

 **Kai and Fujin LP-8000**

"Alright, I'm gonna start things off." Yumei took her sixth card off the top of her deck. "And I'll start with the monster Dark Blade in attack mode!"

The new monster was a warrior clad in dark armor, with two very wicked curved blades in either hand. **Atk-1800**

"Now I'll set two cards face down, and call an end to my turn." Yumei's two face down cards appeared behind Dark Blade, as her turn came to an end.

"Alright." Fujin began, drawing a card. "Well they say that the best offense is a good defense. So, meet this. Stone Statue of the Aztecs!"

A wall of green stone in the shape of a pair of hands and a face appeared in front of the purple hair Obelisk. **Def-2200**

"That does it for me. Kai, it's your move."

Kai smiled as he picked up his sixth card. "Well then, I think I'll introduce a new monster. One that came straight from your older brother. Meet Maiden With Eyes of Blue!"

Both Hyoudou twins went wide eyed. This new monster looked _exactly_ like the girl they had seen in Atem's memories. The girl who held the spirit of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Maiden With Eyes of Blue **Atk-0**

"That ends my turn." Kai said, which caused a murmur to run through the crowd.

"Weird…" Yuki said, as his turn began. "Why play a monster like that, with no attack. Obviously it's got something to do with the Blue Eyes … but what?"

"Only one way to find out Yu." Yumei encouraged her twin. "I've got you covered."

"Right then." Yuki selected his chosen card. "Okay then, I summon Pitch Black Dragon in attack mode!"

The smaller black dragon roared, a small flame shooting out of its mouth as it appeared on Yuki's field. **Atk-700**

"Huh that's weird." Kai mused. "Why summon a monster like that?"

"Think we're about to find out." Fujin said, curiously eyeing Yuki's new monster.

"Now that the stage is set." Yuki began, a smile beginning to form on his face. "It's time to reveal a new monster. "See our two monters have a special ability when they're on the field together. They're contact fusion monsters, that can summon a whole new monster all together."

There was an excited murmur coming from the crowd now.

Dark Blade leapt atop Pitch Black Dragon, using the monster as a mount.

"Meet Dark Blade the Dragon Rider!"

Dark blade the Dragon Rider **Atk-2400**

"Impressive." Kai smiled as he saw the twins new monster.

"You two planned that move from the second Yumei's monster hit the field." Fujin smiled. "Color me impressed."

"Oh it gets better." Yumei began to explain. "See Pitch Black Dragon also acts as an equip card, which raises any monsters attack he's equipped to by an extra 400!"

Dark Blade the Dragon Rider **Atk-2800**

"They set up a combo like that on their first turn?" Fujin was clearly surprised, though she really should have expected that, and rather impressed.

"It's a little intimidating being on the receiving end of something like this." Kai said, remembering Yuki's duel with Chazz several weeks ago, and how he defeated the now disgraced Obelisk with only three cards on his first turn.

"Okay, that's impressive." Jaden was sitting on the edge of his seat, and it was only the first round.

"You should have seen the combo Yuki used against Chazz." Alexis said, rather impressed with the twins combo. "He beat Chazz on his first turn with a combo like this."

"Most impressive." Bastion smiled in approval. "Though I wish I had been able to see that duel."

"Makes two of us." Jaden said, still leaning excitedly forward in his seat.

"Okay, only one way to figure out what that new monster can do." Yuki began, before addressing his monster. "Alright, Dark Blade. Attack Maiden With Eyes of Blue!"

The dark armored warrior pointed his blade forward, and his draconic mount roared, before taking flight straight towards Kai's monster … which caused Kai to smirk.

"Thanks Yuki, because now my Maiden's effect activates." Kai's smirk turned into one of victory. "See, my monster has an effect similar to your Decoy Dragon. When she's attacked, I can switch her into defense mode, and bring out my best monster. My Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

The entire crowd gasped, as Yuki had played straight into Kai's hands. His white scaled dragon roared as it materialized on Kai's field.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

Maiden With Eyes of Blue **Def-0**

"But wait there's more!" Kai declared. "Once my Maiden's effect activates, and my Blue Eyes is summoned, your monster has to change targets to my Blue Eyes!"

"Oh no!" Alexis gasped.

"Yuki walked right into a trap." Bastion was shocked. Not only had he believed that Yuki had made a rather foolish move, but had fallen into a trap he constantly liked to play.

Zane shook his head, sitting right behind Bastion, Alexis, and the slifer trio. "Then why don't the two look worried?"

Sure enough, neither twin looked worried. In fact, Yumei had a smirk to match Kai's. "Good move Kai, but you forgot about my face down cards. More specifically my trap card!"

Yumie flipped up her trap card, causing both Kai and Fujin, as well as the entire arena to gasp in shock.

"Spellbinding Circle!" Yumei smirked. "Now your Blue Eyes cant attack, _and_ it loses 700 attack points!"

Blue Eyes gave a pained roar, as the magical seal appeared over the creatures mid section.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-2300**

"A good play." Bastion nodded his approval while mentally berating himself. He should not have jumped to such a conclusion.

"And now that Blue Eyes is weakened." Torimaki began, he had taken a seat next to Zane. "Their monster can take it out."

Sure enough, the Hyoudou twins fusion monster sliced Blue Eyes in half, causing it to shatter in a cloud of pixels.

 **Kai and Fujin LP-7500**

"Okay, that was a good move." Kai relented, while Yuki placed two cards face down.

Fujin shot her partner a worried look. "You alright?"

"Fine." Kai offered her a smile and a thumbs up. "Won't be making that mistake again."

Fujin laughed softly while shaking her head. "Okay, but next time don't test the waters with your ace monster."

' _They don't look worried, despite the fact that we just took out Kai's ace. They clearly have something big planned… but what?'_ Yumei asked herself, as she drew her next card. "Alright, let's get a few reinforcements. I activate the spell card Reinforcements of the Army, allowing me to add one level four or lower monster from my deck to my hand.

Yumei held up her chosen card. "And I think i'll summon him. Meet my Marauding Captain!"

As Yumei placed her card onto her duel disk. A strong blond haired warrior wielding two thin blades appeared on her field.

Marauding Captain **Atk-1200**

"And whenever he's summoned, I can summon another!" Yumei announced, summoning another Marauding Captain to her field.

Marauding Captain **Atk- 1200**

"A good move." Bastion nodded his approval. "A beginners move certainly, but a good one nonetheless. Now Yumei has her field locked down, so neither Kai nor Fujin can attack her warrior monsters."

"Okay, but what about Fujin's statue?" Jasmine asked, a sly smirk on her face as she turned her attention to the Ra. "Yumei's good, but both of her monsters are a thousand attack points short of being able to beat that monster."

"I wouldn't count her out just yet." Jaden said from the edge of his seat. "She might not be able to beat that monster just yet, but I'm pretty sure they have a combo in store."

"Well if that's all." Fujin smirked, taking her next card. "I'd like to activate a spell card. Dark Designator!"

"Uh-oh…" Cyrus groaned remembering the tag duel against the Paradox brothers. "That card means trouble…"

Fujin's smirk grew, as she slid the card into her duel disk. "Now, I name a monster in my partner's deck. And if Kai has it, he can add it to his hand. Now let's see … how about Blue Eyes White Dragon?"

Kai smirked, as he revealed he did indeed have the named card. "Well what do you know?"

"But I'm not done there. See, since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon my strongest monster! Guardian Eatos!" Fujin's declaration drew a gasp from the crowd, as she revealed her best monster.

Guardian Eatos resembled a Native American woman, with an eagle-like headdress, and white angel wings.

Guardian Eatos **Atk-2500**

"Well… that explains why she was dressed as Eatos for Halloween." Yumei said, with a nervous edge in her voice.

"Got any ideas?" Yuki asked, sharing his twin sister's nervous tone.

"It's your turn." She replied.

"But I'm not done!" Fujin declared while she selected another card from her hand. "Since Eatos was special summoned, I can still normal summon a monster. So, I'll summon Kaiser Seahorse!"

The dark armored aqua monster appeared next to Eatos, holding its trident in both hands. **Atk-1700**

"Impressive move…" Bastion sounded just as nervous as the Hyoudou twins. "Kai might find some use for Fujin's Kaiser Seahorse, and Eatos' effect can make her stronger by removing the opponent's monsters from play."

"Provided Fujin has an equip card to get rid of." Zane added, slightly leaning forward in his seat.

"Oh, and if you thought I didn't have the means to empower her." Fujin began, holding up an equip card. "Think again. By sending this to the graveyard, I can remove up to three monsters from play."

Eatos became surrounded by a bright blue aura as her attack rose.

Guardian Eatos **Atk-3500**

"Okay Eatos, take down that dragon rider!" Fujin declared, ordering her angelic monster to attack Yuki's monster … which vanished the second Eatos brought her blade down.

"Uh… what just happened?" Fujin asked, rather shocked her attack hadn't gone through.

"My trap card happened." Yuki replied, gesturing to his revealed trap card. "Interdimensional Matter Transporter. I activated it the second you attacked my monster, sending it to the out of play zone, and negating your attack."

"Not a bad move Yuki." There was a smile on Kai's face, as his turn began. "But let's see how you stack up to a second Blue Eyes. I play the spell card Tribute Doll, and by sacrificing one of my partners monsters, I can summon a level seven or higher monster. So I think I'll sacrifice Fujin's Kaiser Seahorse, and summon my Blue Eyes!"

Kaiser Seahorse vanished, as Kai's second Blue Eyes appeared on the field.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But wait! There's more!" Kai smirked, taking another card from his hand. "I Play Monster Reborn, and bring back my first Blue Eyes from the graveyard!"

"Okay, this isn't good…" Yuki said rather nervously.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But it doesn't end there Yuki." Kai smirked. "You two aren't the only ones who know how to contact fuse."

Both twins felt a chill go down their spines. They shared a horrified look with one another, as there was no way Kai could be planning on doing what they thought.

"Now I'll contact fuse my Blue Eyes, and summon a new monster! Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!"

The crowd gasped as a twin headed Blue Eyes appeared on Kai's field with a mighty roar.

Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon **Atk-3000**

"Not good…" Yuki said nervously.

"Well, not for the two of you." Kai smirked. "Blue Eyes, attack with Twin Burst Stream!"

Yuki had to shield his face with his duel disk, as his monster was blasted away.

 **Yuki and Yumei LP-7800**

"Not bad Kai, but our monster has a nice little effect." Yumei said, rather confidently.

Yuki shook his head a bit, as the attack had been so bright it affected his eyes like the flash of a camera would. "Yeah, see Pitch Black Dragon is treated as an equip card after it's been contact fused with Dark Blade. So if our monster is ever destroyed, all I have to do is detach Pitch Black Dragon, and our monster is safe."

"Albeit 400 points weaker." Yumie supplied.

Dark Blade the Dragon Rider. **Atk- 2400**

Kai shook his head. "Good strategy you two. But my Blue Eyes has an effect too. See, if he doesn't destroy a monster when he attacks, I can remove that monster from the game."

"Uh-oh…" Both twins had the same nervous look on their face, as Yuki's monster vanished.

"Oh, and I should have mentioned, that Blue Eyes can attack again in the same turn." Kai added, which only sent a spike of fear through the twins. "Blue Eyes, attack! Twin Burst Stream!"

The bright blue blast of Kai's monster engulfed Yuki, forcing him to one knee.

 **Yuki and Yumei LP-4800**

"Yuki…" Alexis sounded incredibly worried for her friend.

"This isn't good. Blue Eyes and Eatos are both very dangerous monsters." Bastion frowned, feeling just as worried as Alexis sounded.

"Hopefully Yuki has a plan." Mindy had crossed her arms over her chest. "Because if they don't find a way to beat that dragon soon…"

"Okay…" Yuki groaned, getting back on his feet. He drew his next card, as it was his turn. "Well that wasn't fun."

"You alright?" Yumei asked.

Yuki gave his twin a reassuring nod. "Yeah, yeah I'm good. Okay, let's return the favor. I summon Delta Flyer to the field."

Yuki's new monster was a rather small dragon with dark colored scales.

Delta Flyer **Atk-1500**

"Now I know what you're thinking. Why would I summon a monster like this?" Yuki began, and continued moments later. "It's because of his effect. See he's able to raise the level of another monster on his field, including himself."

"Okay…" Kai frowned slightly. "I'm not sure I follow…"

"Well Delta Flyer is one of those new monsters Yuri was talking about. A tuner." Yuki explained, which made Kai and Fujin's eyes widen seconds later. "Oh good, you two follow. So now that we're on the same page, sis you mind?"

"What's mine is yours Yu." Yumei smiled, having caught on to her brother's strategy.

"Alright, now I'll join my Delta Flyer with Marauding Captain, and synchro summon a new monster! Trischula of the Ice Barrier!"

An ice cold gust of wind blew around the arena, drawing a surprised gasp from the crowd. A flurry of snow formed in front of Yuki, slowly taking the form of a dragon. The wind suddenly died down, revealing that there indeed was a dragon on Yuki's field. A dragon with snow white scales, and icy blue eyes.

Trischula of the Ice Barrier **Atk-2700**

"And, I know that my new dragon doesn't have the points to best your Blue Eyes, but I've got a few cards that can deal with that." Yuki said, taking two cards from his hands. "The first is an equip card. Ekibyo Drakmord. A monster that is equipped with this card can't attack, loses 200 points, and my personal favorite, is destroyed on the second turn after this card's activation."

Kai's blue eyes gavea pained roar as sickly purple spots appeared on its bright white scales.

Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon **Atk-2800**

Bastion let out a sigh of relief. "A good move Yuki. It may not be enough to even the odds, but let's see what your second card can do."

"And my second card, is Stop Defense. So your Maiden is going back into attack position." Yuki declared, setting his second card into his duel disk, which forced Kai's monster back into attack position.

Maiden With Eyes of Blue **Atk-0**

"I don't get it." Cyrus began confused. "Why use that spell card on Kai's monster, instead of Fujin's statue?"

"It's gotta be because of his dragon's effect." Jaden supplied. "It's gotta have some effect that we don't know about."

"Alright." Yuki began. "Now I'll activate Trischula's effect. See, once per turn I can select one monster on my opponent's field … and negate its effect!"

Kai gulped. "Uh-oh…"

"And my target, is your maiden Kai!" Yuki declared, pointing to Kai's monster. "And now, Trischula attacks! Ice Barrier Blast!"

Now it was Kai's turn to shield his eyes, and shiver heavily as Trischula unleashed a burst of ice shards from its mouth, freezing his monster before it shattered.

 **Kai and Fujin LP-6000**

"And that'll do it for my turn." Yuki said, as he ended his turn.

"Which brings it to my turn." Yumie said, as she drew her new card. "First I'm gonna summon my Valkyrian Knight in attack mode."

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-1900**

"And then like Yuki, I'll activate a few cards." Yumei placed two cards into her duel disk. "The first is Lightning Blade … and I'll give it to your Guardian Eatos!"

Yumei's decision shocked everyone in attendance.

"And then." She continued. "I'll reveal my second card … Really Eternal Rest! Which destroys all monsters with equip cards!"

Both Kai and Fujin's eyes went wide, as their monsters were destroyed by Yumei's card. "Sorry I expedited your plan Yu, but I didn't want to take any risks."

"Fine by me sis." Yuki shrugged, with a smile on his face.

"Alright last two cards." Yumei said, taking the last two cards in her hands. "I play the spell card Double Summon. Now by sacrificing my two monsters, I can summon one more monster this turn! And that's my Buster Blader!"

Marauding Captain and Valkyrian Knight vanished, as Yumei's new monster rose onto her field.

Buster Blader **Atk-2600**

"And now, I'll take down the last line of your defense Fujin! Buster Blader, attack!" Yumei ordered, and her monster leapt into the air, before bringing his blade down to slice Fujin's statue in half.

"Not bad Yumei." There was a smile on Fujin's face as she drew her next card. "But not good enough. I'll activate my own Monster Reborn and bring back Eatos!"

Guardian Eatos **Atk-2500**

"Unfortunately for me, I don't have another equip card to activate her effect, so I'll just set a card face down and call an end to my turn."

"Which brings it to my turn." Kai said, as he drew his next card. "I gotta say, I'm impressed that you two were able to best my ace monster so easily. But, you only get one shot to do so, since it's not going to happen again. I activate Premature Burial, and by paying 800 life points, I can bring my Blue Eyes back to the field!"

 **Kai and Fujin LP-5200**

Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon **Atk-3000**

Buster Blader **Atk-3100**

"Hope you didn't forget about my Buster Blader's effect." Yumei smirked. "With every dragon monster on my opponent's field, he gets an additional 500 attack point boost.

"Oh, I'm not too worried about that." Kai smirked. "I'll let Fu deal with it, for now I'll at-"

"Yeah, no you won't." Yuki countered, revealing his second trap card. "Threatening roar will stop you from attacking this round."

Kai scowled playfully, but shrugged as he had no choice but to end his turn. "Not bad Yuki."

Yuki drew his newest card, and smirked. If his luck was really that good, this was the card that would end the duel. "Alright, I'll start things off with Card of Demise. Allowing me to draw five cards, but after five turns, I have to discard my entire hand."

"That look on his face…" Alexis began. She had seen that look before right when he'd drawn the card he needed to defeat her in their duel months ago.

"Alright, now I'll activate Change of Heart, and take control of your Blue Eyes Kai!" Yuki's declaration shocked everyone in attendance, Kai included.

"Next I'll play the spell card De-Fusion, splitting Blue Eyes back into the two base monsters!" Yuki slid the card into his duel disk, its activation splitting the fusion monster into two Blue Eyes.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"Next I play _my_ Monster Reborn. And bring back your Blue Eyes again Kai."

Blue Eyes Twin Burst Dragon **Atk-3000**

"Next I'll summon my Mirror Dragon in attack mode!"

Mirror Dragon **Atk-?**

"What's up with that monster?" Jaden asked curiously.

"Wait and see." Zane said. He knew from the moment Yuki had summoned Mirror Dragon just what the first year Obelisk had planned.

"You see, when I summon this monster, I can select one monster on my field … and it becomes an exact replica of that monster." Yuki's smirk widened into a victorious grin. "And I chose Blue Eyes!"

Mirror Dragon began to glow a bright blue, as it began to take the form of a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Mirror Dragon/Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"And my last card … is Polymarization!"

"There it is." Zane nodded his approval.

"Now, I'll fuse the three Blue Eyes on my field, and summon the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Similar to his duel with Necrofear, Yuki stood atop the middle head of the dragon. The difference being is that his twin sister stood upon the head to the left.

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon **Atk-4500**

"Now first, let's get rid of Eatos! Blue Eyes, attack! Twin Burst Stream!" Blue Eyes roared, as it blasted Eatos away.

 **Kai and Fujin LP-4900**

"And don't forget Kai, I can attack twice with your monster so… Blue Eyes, direct attack! Twin Burst Stream!" The twin-headed Blue Eyes let out another blast from its second head.

 **Kai and Fujin LP 1900**

"Now for the coupe de grace!" Yuki declared. "Kai, you're good when it comes to the Blue Eyes archetype, but only one person was trusted with the legacy of the Blue Eyes, was me." Yuki explained, before he and his twin sister spoke in unison.

"Blue Eyes, burn it down! Ultimate Burst Stream!"

The three headed Blue Eyes roared, as its three breath attacks combined into one, and engulfed both second year Obelisks.

 **Kai and Fujin LP-0000**

* * *

Meanwhile in Domino City. Yuki's teacher was watching the duel take place in his spacious office. A smirk formed on his face when he saw just how strong Yuki had become, and just how skilled with the Blue Eyes he had become.

"Not bad at all Yuki." Kaiba's smirk, turned into a genuine smile, as he watched the duel conclude.

* * *

"So you really were trained by Kaiba." Kai laughed, as he straightened Yuki up since he'd just escaped from one of fujin's bone cracking hugs. The main group consisting of the four Obelisks who had just dueled one another. Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy, Bastion, Torrimaki, and Even Zane. They were all eating the holiday dinner in the Slifer dorm, as the twins had given said dinner away to the Slifers in the spirit of the holiday of giving.

"I told you…" Yuki wheezed, massaging his ribs. "And who is your mother Fujin, Wonder Woman?"

Fujin nearly choked on her drink, as Yuki's remark made her laugh. "I wish, but no."

* * *

While the festivities were going on at the Slifer Dorms, Chazz made his way out of the main building. "So long Duel Academy. You humiliate me, you demote me, well now you won't have Chazz Princeton to push around anymore!"


	22. Chapter 22

"So he really left?" Yuki asked Alexis. The two were conversing on the ferry that was taking all the students of Duel Academy home for winter break.

Alexis nodded in response. "Yeah, I saw him get on what had to be his family's yacht while we were leaving the Slifer dorms."

"Guess he couldn't take getting his butt constantly handed to him." Yuki shrugged. "But maybe he needed to clear his head, get things straight after everything that's happened. As much as he's irritated me, I'd like to think the latter is the case."

"I'd like to think the same…" Alexis began.

"I'm sensing a 'but' here." Yuki tilted his head slightly to his left.

"But." Alixis began. "I'm not going to hold my breath."

"I won't either." Yuki shrugged, as the two hoisted their bags. The ferry had just docked at the port of Domino City.

"Yuki, you dropped something." Alexis pointed out something that had fallen out of his bag. A small rectangular something that was wrapped in brightly colored paper. She bent down to retrieve it, and once she had straightened up noticed that there was a small tag with her name on it. "Yuki … what is this?"

Yuki felt his face heat up. "It's… for you."

"Still not good with people of the opposite gender?" Alexis teased. Though she was rather flattered by Yuki giving her a Christmas gift.

Yuki shook his head, still rather red in the face. "I haven't-" He began, but Alexis cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.

"It's fine~" Alexis replied with a soft laugh, before she unwrapped the gift Yuki had given her. The female Obelisk felt her jaw go slack, just how had Yuki gotten his hands on a ghost rare Black Magician Girl? "Yuki… how…?"

"It was my first Black Magician Girl." Yuki smiled softly, still rather red in the face.

' _Are you sure about this partner?'_ Neo asked, manifesting next to Yuki. ' _That card is rather special to you.'_

Alexis wrapped her arms tightly about Yuki in thanks, and planted a kiss on his cheek which only made his cheeks redden all the more.

There was little time for any interaction after that. Students were milling about in their haste to leave the ferry. Both Yuki and Alexis grabbed their bags once again, and joined their classmates in leaving the ferry. The air was rather cold, and many students instantly began to shiver upon exiting the ferry.

"I got so used to how warm Duel Academy is, I forgot how cold it gets in Domino." Alexis shivered, scooting closer to Yuki, and placing something into his hands. "Don't open it right away. And no, get your mind out of the gutter. It's nothing like that."

Yuki blushed bright red once again, and quickly stuffed the gift she had given him into his bag. "Can I ask why the secrecy?"

"I'll be honest, I like you Yuki." Alexis began while the two walked down the ramp of the ferry. "But there are no secrets on that island. You've seen how many people like me, and if they knew that I liked you…"

"I would have an even bigger target on my back." Yuki finished, having put all the pieces together. "But I think I could take them."

Both Yuki and Alexis laughed. Neither of them doubted that Yuki could handle all of the academy students who liked Alexis. However this was neither the time or the place for that.

Alexis eventually left his side when she found her mother, who had come to pick her up. And Yuki knew exactly where Alexis got her good looks, as Mrs. Rhodes was the spitting image of her daughter … or was it the other way around?

"And to answer your question partner." Yuki began, as Neo still hadn't vanished. "I'm very sure. Besides, I think that card belongs with her."

' _You may be right about that.'_ Neo said, as a semi-transparent figure appeared behind Alexis. The spirit of the Black Magician Girl.

"Come on." Yuki said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's find Yumei and go-"

"Yuki!" Sora's voice cut across, before the brown haired, amber eyed Obelisk ran up to him. There was an almost giddy smile on her face as she grabbed his hand, and led him away. "There you are! Come on!"

"H-hey!" Yuki protested, and attempted to pull his hand back. However, Sora had a tight grip on his wrist. "Sora, where are we going?"

"Your ride's here!" Sora said giddily, as she led him along.

"Okay but-" Yuki soon understood why his classmate was so excited. Her idol, Mai Valentine Wheeler was waiting in a red convertible sports car. Yumei was already sitting shotgun beside the famous duelist. "Ohhhhh, I get it now. Hey you get an autograph?"

"Yup!" Sora held up an autographed Harpie Lady card with a smile on her face.

Mai smiled brightly when she saw Yuki. Despite having a little sister in Serenity Wheeler, she had come to think of the Hyoudou twins as younger siblings of sorts. "There you are!"

"Hey Mai." Yuki smiled, as the feeling in his hand slowly came back once Sora had released it from her grip.

"Come on, get in." Mai laughed, reaching over and opening the rear passenger door for him.

"You need a ride Sora?" Yumei asked, subtly motioning for Yuki to take the seat behind Mai.

Sora became very flustered at the offer. "Oh no! I couldn't-"

"Get in." Mai, Yumei, and Yuki said in unison, to which she immediately did so. Occupying the rear passenger seat, as Yuki was now sitting behind Mai.

"So Mai, what have you and Joey been up to?" Yumei asked, while Mai drove them away from the docks.

A smile formed on Mai's face. "Participating in the second Battle City. Took second place against Yugi." She held up the silver second place trophy, waving it about slightly.

Yuki sighed, and shook his head. "Guy's still the king of games even without Atem's help."

"Atem?" Sora asked, as she had to be the only one of their friends who was out of the loop.

"You know that big golden upside down pyramid Yugi wore a few years ago?" Yuki asked, to which Sora nodded in response. "That was an ancient magic item that held the spirit of an Egyptian Pharaoh."

"And it was that Pharaoh that helped Yugi become the king of games." Yumei joined in.

"...okay, I follow so far." Sora began. "But a few questions here. Why doesn't Yugi have that pyramid anymore, and is that necklace Yuki wears similar to Yugi's?"

"Yes." The three answered, which made Sora blink in shock. Yuki began to explain about everything that happened during the events of Battle City, the debachle with the Orichalcos though he left out Mai's involvement, and everything with the Pharaoh's memories. Occasionally being helped by Yumei, who filled in details that Yuki had missed. Though she too left out Mai's involvement in any antagonistic role, much to her relief.

"Wow." Sora said, once their explaination had finished. "That is … a lot to take in."

"Try having to actually live through it." Yumei gave a small huff of laughter.

"Yeah, I guess after going through all of that, nothing would really phase the two of you." Sora replied with her own huff of laughter.

"Oh, you've got no idea." Mai laughed, before she stopped her car in front of a rather large gaming store. "Alright you two, this is your stop."

"Thanks Mai." Yuki said as he grabbed his bag.

"Tell Joey we said hi." Yumei hugged the older woman, as she and her siblings exited her car.

"Can do." The Harpie duelist waved good-bye as she drove off, with Sora now sitting shotgun.

"Well, are you ready to see mom and…?" Yumei's question trailed off as she stepped inside their family's game shop. It was absolutely packed from door to counter with people. And from the sounds of the crowd, very impatient people.

"Uh… sis…?" Yuki gave his twin a nervous look. His nerves for dueling in front of large crowds, but navigating through all these people who were packed in like sardines?

"Right." Yumei gave a quick nod before acting. Grabbing her twin brother's hand, Yumei began to push through the impatient crowd of people, earning her several glares and some comments about cutting in line. However Yumei simply countered by telling these impatient people that she lived here.

The two finally made their way to the counter, where they encountered yet another surprise, and another blast from the past. Odion, the personal bodyguard and adoptive older brother of Marric and Ishizu Ishtar was behind the counter waiting on customers.

"Odion?" The twins asked in unison, which caught the older man's attention.

A soft smile graced the tattoed Egyptian man, who had turned away from the customer he was waiting on to greet the two. "It's good to see the two of you again."

"Uh, what are you doing here?" Yuki asked, as the color slowly returned to his face. He _hated_ being in cramped spaces filled with people.

"Visiting, and helping your family." Odion replied, though the twins were still very confused. Their confusion made him chuckle in an amused manner. "Ah, I see Yuri didn't tell you. It doesn't matter, you'll find out soon."

"What does that mean?" Yumei asked, but never got an answer out of Odion. The crowd was growing more and more impatient, and their yelling and demands for service had gotten to such a level that anymore conversation was going to be impossible at the moment.

"EVERYONE BE QUIET!" A voice cried out from behind Odion, which made him and the twins jump. Both twins knew that voice, and knew that whenever that person raised their voice, things were serious. A woman with dark brown hair and eyes who wore the uniform of her family's game shop stepped out from behind Odion. Misa Hyoudou was staring down the crowd, glaring like an angry dragon. "If you all can't act like decent human beings, then none of you are getting service today!"

Every last person who had crowded the shop stayed quiet. It was the last day that the shop would be open until the holidays ended in two weeks.

"Better." Mrs. Hyoudou said in a cool tone. "Now everyone form two lines, and you _will_ keep things civil. Remember, we're the last shop open in the city."

There wasn't a word of complaint from any of the customers who nearly instantly listened to Mrs. Hyoudou's orders. Within fifteen minutes, the customers that were rowdy before her intervention all had their transactions completed, but were still in shock from her outburst. Though not one person said anything about it.

"There." Mrs. Hyoudou sighed once the last customer had left. She shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly, what gets into people around this time? I'm sorry for putting you through that Odion."

Odion shook his head with a small smile on his face. "It's perfectly fine. I volunteered to help."

It was then, that Mrs. Hyoudou noticed her two youngest children, who hadn't moved since before her outburst. Within seconds both twins were pulled into their mothers embrace. "Oh good! You're both home! I'm sorry we couldn't pick you up b-"

"Mom, it's fine." Yuki began. There was an embarrassed smile on his face, but what nearly fully grown child didn't get embarrassed whenever their parent lavished some sort of affection on them.

"You were stupidly busy, we completely understand." Yumei added, her arms now wrapped about her mother.

"But we do have questions." Yuki said, now turning his attention back to Odion. "You said you were visiting, and I think we would like to know why."

"Oh!" Mrs. Hyoudou began in a rather shocked tone of voice. "Yuri didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Yumei asked, as Yuki's attention was now fixed on his mother, just as his sisters was.

* * *

"DATING!?" Both siblings exclaimed in complete shock. The two had just had everything explained to them, that Odion and Marric were visiting for the holidays alongside their sister Ishizu … who was dating their older brother.

Ishizu smiled rather smugly at Yuri. "I told you they would react that way."

"I never doubted you." Yuri had a smile on his face, but handed a card over to her. Though that didn't seem enough for Ishizu who fixed him with a look. "Alright, alright. I'm making dinner tonight."

Ishizu smiled rather smugly, something that the twins believed to be rather out of character for her given how serious she seemed during Battle City. She turned her attention back to the twins, wondering just what they had been up to since the last time they had seen each other. And that's when she saw the new Millenium Ring around Yuki's neck after he unzipped his jacket. "Yuki… where did you get that?"

Yuki looked down at the ring, to his twin sister, and then back to Ishizu. "It's a long story…"

* * *

Ishizu, Marrik, and Odion, as well as Mrs and Mr. Hyuoudou who had returned from the warehouse that the family owned all listened to Yuki and Yumei talk about what happened at the abandoned dorm. About the resurgence of the shadow games, Bakura's return, and subsequent possession of Lance Osbourne, and the duel that culminated in Mahad's return, and the Millenium Ring that was now around Yuki's neck.

The two told this story while Yuri made dinner, the eldest sibling having already heard this story when he visited his younger siblings.

' _Far too spicy partner.'_ Mahad's spirit tutted his disapproval as he watched over Yuri's shoulder as he cooked.

"Hey, who's cooking here? You or me?" Yuri couldn't help but laugh at his old partner's remark.

' _You're still using too much cumin spice.'_ Mahad countered with a shake of his head.

* * *

The Hyoudou's Ishizu, Marrik, and Odion continued discussing things that had happened at Duel Academy over dinner. The subject of the abandoned dorm was rather bothersome, and more than once the suggestion of talking to Kaiba about the whole ordeal was brought up.

In the end, that was what Yuki decided to do. After all, Seto did fund, plan, and create Duel Academy. If anyone would know about the abandoned dorm, it would be him. Though it did bother Yuki that this was going to be yet another holiday that the Rhodes family had to spend without Atticus, wondering just what had happened, and where he could be.

* * *

Several days after arriving home for winter break, Yuki made his way through downtown Domino, heading towards the large building in the center of the city. He didn't know why, but winters in Domino City were terrible. "And the brothers of the Night's Watch complain about the cold at Castle Black…"

The closer to the headquarters of the Kaiba Corporation he got, Yuki saw more and more advertisements for the new synchro monsters. "Guess that was why it was so busy the day we got back. Everyone must have wanted to get their pre-orders paid off. Oooh, must have been _really_ busy at Grandpa Muoto's store if that was the case."

Yuki let out a sigh of relief when he entered the Kaiba Corp building. Out of the cold, and into a luxurious heated building. He was clearly not a winter person, even if one of his new dragon monsters was a water attribute, and attacked using ice.

Yuki was about to ask the secretary sitting behind the desk if Seto was there, when she spoke. "You can go right up Mr. Hyoudou. Mr. Kaiba is expecting you."

' _Guess that answers that.'_ Yuki thought after thanking the secretary, and entering the elevator behind her desk. "Why is it that the CEO's office always has to be on the top floor?" It wasn't that Yuki had a problem with heights, it was that he found it bothersome that the CEO of a large and successful company almost always had their office atop some large building, as if to look down upon all those who weren't them, or as successful as they were. If there was one thing about Seto that bothered Yuki, it had to be that. Well, that and his distaste for Joey Wheeler. Though that seemed to have mellowed out over the last few years.

The elevator door slid apart upon reaching the top floor of the KC building, revealing the large office that belonged to Seto Kaiba. And just as the secretary on the ground floor had said, there he was sitting behind his desk. The man who's holographic technology had caused Duel Monsters popularity to skyrocket into the major competitive sport that it was. Seto Kaiba himself.

A smile spread across Seto's face as his old student stepped into his office. "I was wondering when you would come by Yuki."

"Your secretary said that you were expecting me." Yuki replied as a shudder from the cold outside ran up his back, as he was still adjusting to the warmth of the large building. "And do you ever take a break?"

Seto gave a single chuckle. "The holiday breaks let me catch up on things. Mostly figuring out how to balance the new monsters Pegasus came up with."

"You mean the synchros?" Yuki asked, to which Kaiba nodded in response. "They seem balanced to me, and the way they're summoned is basically contact fusion."

Seto pressed a button on the keyboard that was built into his desk, and a large monitor to his left, Yuki's right flickered to life. Yuki felt something jolt through his stomach, though he couldn't tell if it was shock, fear, or excitement. The monitor showed Yuki's tag duel with Yumei against Kai and Fujin, and Yuki had just synchro summoned Trischula.

"That's Trischula of the Ice Barrier. And I'm curious to know just how you got your hands on a card like that, when none of those monsters are supposed to be released for the next few months." Seto's tone didn't sound upset, or accusitory. It was more curious if anything else.

"That would be Yuri." He answered with a small shrug, to which Seto responded with a single nod. Of course Yuri would have gifted his younger siblings with new cards like the synchros after winning that tournament in America.

"But if you saw the duel." Yuki continued, having should have known that all the duel disks had an uplink to the Kaiba Corporation network. "Then you'll know how it ended."

Another smile broke out over Seto's face. He pressed another button on his desk, fast forwarding the duel, and stopping only when Yuki had pulled off his winning comby of summoning both Blue Eyes fusions. "Not bad at all Yuki. I knew I made the right decision in entrusting the legacy of the Blue Eyes with you. But with that being said…" Seto held a hand out towards Yuki. "Mind if I see that Blue Eyes?"

"Uh…" Yuki felt apprehensive in just handing over the strongest non fusion monster in his dragon deck. Something that Seto had clearly picked up on.

"I'm not going to damage it." He reassured his student.

Relenting, Yuki retrieved his dragon deck from the case he carried his cards with on his belt. All those months at Duel Academy meant that Yuki never went anywhere without his cards. Yuki handed the Blue Eyes that Kai had given him over to Kaiba.

"I take it this belonged to Kai Murrasame?" Seto asked, holding the card in his hand.

Yuki fixed seto with a shocked look. "Okay, how did you know that?"

"Duel Academy is my school." Seto answered, handing Yuki back his Blue Eyes. "I know everything about all my students."

Yuki paused, as he was just about to place his deck back in its deck box. "That's actually why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you about some students who have gone missing. One in particular is the older brother of a friend of mine. Atticus-"

"Rhodes." Seto finished for Yuki, pulling up Atticus' student profile on the same monitor that showed the tag duel. "How much do you know about the fourth dorm at the school Yuki?"

Yuki shook his head "Not much, only that it's known as the abandoned dorm."

"Well, originally that dorm was made for the absolute best at the school." Seto began to explain.

"Hang on…" Yuki began, as Seto's explanation had raised a red flag in his head. "You named the dorms after the three Egyptian god cards. How could there be a fourth dorm, if there-ohhhhh!" His eyes went wide, as the pieces fell into place. "That fourth dorm is … or was centered on Horakhty!"

"Give the man a prize." Seto nodded, as he continued to explain. "The fourth dorm was made to fit the best students between the three dorms, but it also served another purpose. I remember that promise that Yuri had Mahad keep, but I wasn't about to put all my eggs in that one basket. So I had that dorm made to better study and prepare my students, in case another threat like Bakura or Zorc ever came around, since Yugi and I won't be around forever. And something else came from the construction of that dorm."

Seto pressed another button on his desk, and Yuki let out a surprised gasp at what he saw. Seven items came up on screen, that looked very similar to the Millenium Items. "I call them the Shadow Charms. They're similar to the Millenium Items, only their constructions didn't involve-"

"Human sacrifices?" Yuki asked. His eyes never leaving the screen. More pieces were starting to fall into place in Yuki's head, as he remembered what Bakura had said when he possessed Lance. He began explaining to Seto everything that Bakura told him when the two dueled in the basement of the abandoned dorm.

"So Bakura sacrificed my students to recreate this…" Kaiba said, glaring at the new Millenium ring that Yuki had placed on his desk. "And the Shadow Charms have gone missing as well."

There was a long and rather uncomfortable silence that passed between the two, before Seto took a deep breath, and addressed his student. "Yuki, I'm going to ask a lot out of you. But I need you to retrieve the Shadow Charms … and if it's possible-"

"You want me to find out if it's possible to bring back the missing students." Yuki finished for Seto. "I'll see what I can do, but that last one is going to be a really tall order."

"Well if anyone can do it." Seto handed Yuki back the Millenium Ring. "Right now that would be you."

* * *

' _Are you sure you can do this?'_ Mahad spoke to Yuki from inside his mind, as Yuki made his way home.

"Not alone." Yuki shiverred. He hated the cold.

' _Ah, does that mean you're finally able to trust your friend's should the shadow games make their return?'_ Yuki sighed at Mahad's question.

"I'm not too happy about it." Yuki shook his head. "You saw what happens when an unexperienced person is forced into a shadow game." He said in reference to Mai's duel during the semi-finals of Battle City.

' _Well from what priest Seto told you, that fourth dormitory was made to prepare duelists should the shadow games make their return.'_

Despite the cold, Yuki managed to laugh. "You're still calling him-"

' _Yuki!'_ Mahad cut him off, his spirit manifesting and pointing to Yuki's coat. Looking down, Yuki saw one of the spikes on the Millenium Ring was pointing forwards, which formed a point in his coat. Yuki quickly unzipped his coat, shivering further as more cold air hit him.

Yuki and Mahad looked to one another, then back to the Millenium ring. The two knew that the ring could detect other Millenium Items and those who were pure evil. "Really not the way I want to spend my day, but…" Yuki began to follow where the Ring pointed, which eventually led him to one of the more popular duel cafe's in the city.

"That explains it…" Yuki made a sound between a sigh of resignation, and a groan of irritation. Walking into the cafe, which was open year round, save one day a year, Yuki found the Ring was pointing at another boy his age who loved to terrorize the younger kids around the city.

"Hey!" Yuki called out, before approaching the boy. Seven younger kids were pressed against a far wall of the duel cafe ' _employees must be in the back'_. There were seven younger kids in total, but the one boy was Yuki's age, and a lot bigger than the others he was tormenting. "Bowers, why don't you pick on somebody your own size?"

The boy, Bowers, turned his attention towards Yuki at the mention of his name. He then rolled his eyes, and ran a hand through his hair whose style went out of fashion thirty years ago. "What do you want?"

"You never change." Yuki sounded angry. His fists were clenched, as right now he would like nothing more than to punch Bowers right in his face. "I thought not getting into Duel Academy would have taught you a lesson. Guess I thought wrong if you're taking your frustrations out on younger kids."

Bowers scoffed and shrugged, the younger kids taking this opportunity to get away from him. However, Bowers made to go after them, though Yuki cut him off, by stepping in front of him. "Out of the way Hyoudou. These little punks have it coming."

"Seven ten year olds?" Yuki looked over his shoulder at the terrified kids. "Yeah, they look like a real threat. You know what, I think it's time you got a taste of your own medicine."

"Sounds like you're calling me out." Bowers sneered.

Yuki nodded once, and there was a determined fire in his eyes. "I am." He pointed towards a set of doors. "Now get in there, it's time to duel."

This particular duel cafe's dueling terminal had a rather old school dueling platform. Similar to the ones used in Duelist Kingdom. Yuki stepped onto the blue platform, while Bowers stepped onto the red one. The seven kids that Bowers had been tormenting quickly followed in behind Yuki, eager to see how this duel played out.

"You know something Yuki, you're overdue for a beatdown." Bowers said, readying his deck.

"Remind me Bowers, when was the last time you beat me?" Yuki asked while readying his own deck. "Because I'm pretty sure the answer is 'never'."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki LP-4000**

 **Bowers LP-4000**

Bowers drew first, and smirked. "Get ready. I summon Dragon Zombie in attack mode." A sickly purple decaying dragon corpse appeared on Bowers side of the field.

Dragon Zombie **Atk-1600**

"Let's see you stand up to that." There was a sneer on Bowers face.

Yuki rolled his eyes, drawing his sixth card. "No back row, and one monster on your field with zero defense. And you really think you're a strong duelist? Let's see you stand up to this, Spear Dragon in attack mode!"

Yuki's dragon was a blue scaled dragon with a nose looking more like the point of a javelin.

Spear Dragon **Atk-1900**

"Oh, and there's also this. The spell card Block Attack. I play this card, and swap one monster on my opponent's field from attack to defense mode." Yuki smirked, as Bowers dragon curled into a defensive position.

Dragon Zombie **Def-0**

"But wait, there's more!" Yuki announced. "See when Spear Dragon attacks, he inflicts piercing damage whenever he attacks a defense position monster. Now Spear Dragon, attack that zombie!"

Spear Dragon let out a high pitched screech, making everybody but Yuki wince before Bowers' monster shattered in a cloud of pixels.

 **Bowers LP-2100**

"Now since he attacked, his effect makes him go into defense mode." Yuki shifted his monster card horizontally, and on his field his dragon wrapped his wings over his body.

Spear Dragon **Def-0**

"And to end my turn, I'll set a card face down."

Bowers scoffed, drawing his next card. "You give me grief for playing a monster with no defense, and then you play one? Calling the kettle black huh Hyoudou?"

"You'll see." Yuki shook his head.

"Whatever. I'll play Polymarization, and fuse Crass Clown and Dream Clown, and summon Bickuribox!" Bowers placed his fusion monster card in his monster zone before his monster materialized on his field. It was a fiendish looking jack-in-the-box armed with a scythe.

Bickuribox **Atk-2300**

"Then I'll set a monster face down, before I'll have my monster attack that dragon!" The scythe-wielding monster popped out of the box, before making to slice Yuki's dragon in half with its scythe.

"Oh, I don't think so Bowers. Did you forget about my face down card?" There was a smirk on Yuki's face, as he revealed his face down card, which caused Bowers' stomach to drop. De-fusion. "Now, I'm splitting that freakish jack-in-the-box."

Bickuribox stopped its attack in mid-swing, before splitting back into the two monsters that made up its fusion.

Crass Clown **Atk-1350**

Dream Clown **Atk-1200**

Bowers scoffed in agitation, as he couldn't continue with his battle phase due to De-fusion's effect. "Fine, I'll just switch Dream Clown into defense mode, and activate his effect. When he's switched from attack to defense, I can destroy one monster on your field."

Spear dragon shattered, as Dream clown took a knee.

Dream Clown **Def-900**

"Alright, now I'll set a card face down." Bowers ended his turn, afterwards.

' _Hatchling, use us.'_ Yuki heard the same voice in his head that he had heard on Halloween. Shaking his head, as if to rid it of an embarrassing memory, Yuki drew his next card. "Alright, let's see how you stack up to this! I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!"

The bright scaled dragon roared as it materialized on Yuki's field.

Alexandrite Dragon **Atk-2000**

"Alright, now let's even things up. Alexandrite Dragon, attack that clown!" Yuki ordered, as his dragon unleashed a stream of bright fire which incinerated Crass Clown.

 **Bowers LP-1350**

"Then I'll set a card face down, and call it a turn."

Bowers was beginning to become agitated. He was losing the duel, and worse still, at least for him was that Yuki hadn't lost a single life point. "Alright, that's how you want to play Hyoudou? Let's see how you like this!"

Bowers then flipped his face down monster face up. "My Castle of Dark Illusions!"

Castle of Dark Illusions **Def-1930**

"And his effect raises all my monsters attack and defense by 200 points each turn."

Castle of Dark Illusions **Def-2130**

"But I'm not done there! I'll sacrifice Dream Clown, and summon Pumpking the king of Ghosts!"

A giant fiendish looking pumpkin then appeared on Bowers field.

Pumpking **Atk-1800**

"Wait! Can he do that?" One of the kids who had followed behind Yuki asked.

Yuki turned to face the kids, and gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah, because his castle was already on the field on his previous turn. So he can summon his new monster, after flipping the castle face up."

"But it doesn't end there, since I have Castle of Black Illusions on my field, he now gets a boost to his attack!" Bowers smirked, as Pumpking seemed to grow in size.

Pumpking **Atk-1900**

"But, I'm not done there. I'll activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Several blades made of pure light surrounded Yuki's dragon. "Now you can't attack me for the next three turns!"

"Alright, then it looks like its my turn." Yuki drew his next card, and a smile crossed his face. "I'll tribute Alexandrite Dragon, and summon Horus Level Six!"

Yuki's bright silver dragon roared as it took Alexandrite Dragon''s place on the field.

Horus Level Six **Atk-2800**

"And you wanna know the best part about this monster Bowers?" Yuki had a victorious smile on his face. "He's not affected by my opponent's spell cards!"

Bowers visibly blanched. "Wait, what!?"

"Oh yeah! Now Horus, since Halloween's over, take out that overgrown jack-o-lanturn!" At Yuki's order, Horus let out a stream of black flames from its mouth. Incinerating Pumpking.

 **Bowers LP-1030**

"But, I'm not done there." Yuki continued. "Since I inflicted battle damage to you with Horus, I can summon the strongest of the three Horus cards, Horus Level Eight!" A large silver dragon, flew about the playing field, wowing the kids who were watching, before landing in front of Yuki.

Horus Level 8 **Atk-3000**

"Oh and the best part is." Yuki said, turning his attention back to the kids watching the duel. "Is that without Pumpking on the field, Bowers strategy with his castle doesn't work." He turned his attention back to Bowers. "Another reason why you didn't get into Duel Academy, is that you rely only on that one strategy, and it ends after the fourth standby phase after one of those two cards hit the field."

Castle of Dark Illusions **Def-1950**

Bowers growled in aggravation, before drawing his next card. A wicked grin came over his face as he got a look at what he had just drawn. "Oh, I'm not done with this duel just yet! I activate Monster Reborn, and bring Pumpking back to my field!"

Pumpking then resurfaced onto Bowers' field, but he wasn't done there. "And then, I'll sacrifice both Pumpking, and my castle, and summon Invader of Darkness!"

The air temperature dropped a good ten degrees, as a wicked looking creature emerged onto Bowers' field.

Invader of Darkness **Atk-2900**

"Now I'll have him attack Horus!" That next decision visibly shocked Yuki.

"Uh, you won't win that battle. Horus is a hundred attack points stronger." He blinked in surprise, as Horus blasted Bowers' new monster away.

 **Bowers LP-930**

"This is why." Bowers smirked, holding up a spell card. "A Deal With Dark Ruler! It let's me special summon a monster after I lose an eight star monster like my Invader!"

Yuki then sighed, and shook his head. Admittedly, it was a good strategy, however Bowers forgot something critically important. "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen! Because of Horus' effect, I can negate and destroy one spell card during either turn!"

Horus roared, burning away Bowers' card with another burst of black fire.

"And that leaves your field empty, and with my turn coming up, and nothing in your back row, you're in serious trouble." Yuki smirked, drawing his next card. His smirk only widened further, as he played it. "My own Monster Reborn! And with it, I'll bring Horus back to the field!"

Horus roared, taking its place next to its stronger counterpart.

Horus Level 6 **Atk-2800**

"Best part, is if you remember, this Horus isn't affected by my opponent's spell cards! Now it's time to bring this duel to an end! Meaning, I'm about to burn it down! Horus, direct attack!"

With a large roar, Horus' black fire engulfed Bowers.

 **Bowers LP-0000**

* * *

"Hey, if he gives you any more trouble until winter break ends." Yuki began, as he and the younger kids went back into the cafe. Yuki electing to get himself a hot chocolate before heading home. "You can come to my families store. He's terrified of my twin sister, so he won't go anywhere near her." A smile crossed his face, as he bade goodbye to the kids, before bundling himself up as he continued heading back. He had a lot to discuss with his family.


	23. Chapter 23

Yuki had begun having srange dreams ever since he had that conversation with Seto about the abandoned dorm.

 _He was in the middle of a duel, and dangerously low on life points. His vision was rather blurry, and as such he couldn't really see his opponent. What he could see was the person was dueling was wearing very dark clothing, and their face looked to be concealed either by a hood or some sort of mask._

 _His opponent's monster was a dragon. A strong dark dragon, that Yuki just couldn't seem to recognise. From the way his hands were shaking, that dragon had just attacked Yuki, blasting away the last line of defense he had. He was dangerously close to losing this duel, and had no cards in his hands, or any set on his field._

 _Yuki felt his stomach drop when he saw the next card he drew. Dragon Revival Ritual. His hand shook even more, as every time he played this card, people would get hurt. But… but he was in danger of losing this duel, and this was the only card he had._

 _He knew he would lose if he didn't play this card. If summoning her was the only way he could win…_

 _Unable to resist the influence of his strongest dragon, Yuki played the only card he could. The powerful five-headed dragon roared as Yuki summoned her, his opponent's monster vanishing due to her effect. Mythic then blasted the duelist away with a combined attack from each of its five heads._

* * *

Yuki's eyes opened, and he sat upright in his bed. "That's the third time this week…"

' _You had that dream again.'_ Yuki felt Mahad's hand on his shoulder as the spirit spoke. Concern was evident in his voice.

Yuki was silent for a moment. His right hand was shaking, as he could still faintly see the outline of Dragon Revival Ritual in his hand. "Yeah… but I still can't see the person I'm dueling. Kinda makes me wish I had the Millenium Necklace."

' _There are significant drawbacks to learning too much about one's future Yuki…'_ Mahad warned.

"I know, I just … I wish I knew who it was I was supposed to be dueling in that dream…" A shiver ran up his spine at the mention of that mystery opponent. Even dreaming, he had an odd or bad feeling about whoever that was supposed to be. "Not knowing who it is, I don't like it…"

' _Agreed, yet there is nothing that can be done for now.'_

"Why can't I ever be dreaming of something pleasant?" Yuki groaned as he got dressed. Though he was so used to wearing his Obelisk Blue uniform, he hadn't even realized he had put that on.

' _You mean your friend Alexis?'_ Mahad gestured to the photo on Yuki's bedside table. He chuckled at how Yuki blushed, as the photo in question. It was a picture taken at the Halloween dance of Yuki and Alexis. Whoever had taken the photo had incredible timing. It was right in the middle of a dance that had taken place after his duel with Necrofear. Alexis' head was resting against Yuki's chest, eyes closed, with a very happy smile on her face. Clearly this was what she had given to Yuki on the ferry back home. ' _She clearly likes you'_

"I am _very_ well aware of that." Yuki was red in the face, as he remembered the kiss she had given him on Halloween.

* * *

For the Hyoudou family and the Ishtars, the holidays passed rather peacefully. Yuki's crazy dreams notwithstanding. Yuri ended up gifting his younger siblings a popular tabletop game called Monster World which the twins took to rather excitedly. While Yumei played a battle master warrior, Yuki had chosen to play a blade singer mage.

They would play every chance they got, being joined by a curious Odion and Ishizu. Ishizu enjoyed the concept of a warrior healer, while Odion chose the role of the arcane thief. Yuri played the role of the game master. He was fair, but ran his encounters rather close to the wire. More than once it came down to an extremely lucky roll from one of the twins that allowed for the group to mount a comeback.

On the last day of winter break was the built up encounter against a very strong black dragon. Yuki had thrown up wards to protect himself, Yumei, Ishizu, and Odion. Ishizu had begun channeling her white magic, preparing to heal any damage taken. Yumei, large two-handed blade at the ready, charged headfirst at the dragon, while Odion stuck to the shadows pelting the dragon with arrows and spells.

The encounter was, like most of the one's Yuri ran was very close. Ishizu had nearly run out of mana for her healing spells, and Yuki's magic wards were barely holding. Odion was doing all he could to distract the dragon from melting Yumei with its acidic breath attack. Though eventually, they prevailed. Odion had ended up rolling a double critical, though he was rather confused after damage calculation when Yuri asked him: "How do you want to do this?"

It took only a few moments to explain that with the amount of damage Odion had dealt, was enough to destroy the dragon, and Yuri was asking him how he would like to end the creature.

* * *

The next day, the twins had arrived at the docks, ready to board the ferry back to Duel Academy. They were accompanied by their parents, Yuri, and the Ishtars.

"Now you two behave." Mrs. Hyoudou gave her children a rather tight hug.

"No initiating any shadow games." Ishizu chided lightly, lightly ruffling Yuki's hair in the same manner that Yuri would.

"Only if you keep _him_ in line." Yuki shot back, motioning to his older brother, which made Ishizu laugh. He doubted that Mahad would even allow him to do that even if he wanted to.

With that, and after one last hug from their parents and elder sibling, the twins walked up the ramp of the ferry with the rest of their classmates. Even with so many students on the ferry who were coming back from winter break, the twins somehow found their core group of friends. Minus the Slifer trio, who had stayed on Academy Island.

"Good holiday?" Kai asked the twins, though only Yumei answered since Fujin had Yuki in another hug.

"Yep." Yumei began to explain what they had done over break, playfully ignoring Yuki's pleas for help. Only getting the purple haired Obelisk to release her twin, after finishing her story, before turning to Alexis. "Find any new leads?"

Alexis could only shake her head. She knew what Yumei was talking about instantly, but hadn't had any luck. "Nothing concrete…"

"Well…" Yuki groaned, massaging his sides. He swore Fujin got stronger over the break. "I had some luck on that end…" And so, after recovering from his friend's surprise hug, he explained what Seto had told him about the fourth dorm, and the creation of the Shadow Charms. "The bad news is, that like the rest of the students, they're currently missing."

"Is there good news?" Kai had his head tilted slightly to the side at Yuki's explanation.

Yuki nodded slightly. "Some, though it's just a theory at the moment. But if the Shadow Charms are anything like the Millenium Items, then it's only a matter of time until…" Yuki then showed everyone a picture of Atticus that Seto had sent to his PDA. Everyone who saw the picture let out a gasp. The picture showed Atticus wearing one of the Shadow Charms. "See the thing about the Millenium Items, is that… _was_ that their owners were drawn to one another for some reason."

"Which means." Things suddenly clicked and fell into place for Alexis. "That because of even the faintest similarities between the Shadow Charms and that ring around your neck, it should only be a matter of time before Atticus reappears."

"Yeah, but it is just a theory at the moment." Yuki replied. Though almost immediately after saying this theory of his, holes had begun popping up in various places. What if Atticus hadn't had his Shadow Charm when he suddenly vanished? What if it had been taken from or off of him? What if he _had_ been used in Bakura's sacrifice to recreate the Millenium Ring?

"At this point, anything is better than what we had." Fujin spoke up while placing a hand on Yuki Alexis' shoulders in a comforting manner. "And if Yuki' is right, then all we have to do is wait."

A smile slowly spread across Alexis' face. Her friends were right of course. There was no need to worry about this right now. Especially after everything that they… that Yuki had done over the break. "You're right. Waiting a little longer isn't going to hurt."

Yuki then felt Kai clap him on the back. "Well, since that's settled … how about we have a little duel Yuki? Give you a chance to test out some of those cards I gave you."

Fujin gave him a look that was a mix between shock and mild annoyance. "On a crowded ferry full of students … in the middle of the ocean. Really Kai?"

"She does have a point." Yumei said, looking at the other Obelisk boy. "Maybe we better save this, until we reach the island."

"No, let's duel." Kai smiled brightly at Yuki's words, while Fujin facepalmed, and Yumei rolled her eyes.

* * *

Kai could barely contain his excitement s he readied his duel disk. He'd made some serious upgrades to his deck, and was eager to settle the score with Yuki. "Hope you're ready for this Yuki."

"Bring it on Kai!" Yuki sounded just as excited as Kai. First duel of the new semester would be against the first person he ever dueled at the academy. Slotting his dragon deck into the deck zone of his duel disk, Yuki held up his activated duel disk on his left arm. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Duel!"

 **Kai-LP 4000**

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

"Alright, I'll kick things off." Kai said, before drawing his sixth card. His eyes went wide for a moment, before a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh man, you are in for it Yuki. So first, by revealing a Blue Eyes in my hand." Kai showed Yuki the monster card in question. "I can special summon this! Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

"Alternative?" Yuki looked rather confused, even as a jolt of fear shot through his stomach. Summoning a Blue Eyes monster on his first turn? Kai really had improved.

With a mighty roar, Kai's Blue Eyes, which looked just like it's normal counterpart, only with more defined features appeared. Which made another jolt of fear shoot through Yuki.

Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But I'm not stopping there!" Kai announced, while setting a card into his duel disk. "I'll play this; the spell card Ancient Rules!"

"Uh-oh…" Yuki gulpped, as he looked at the card his friend had played. He had an identical copy in his hand, and knew what Kai could do with it. Especially with the monster he had just revealed to be in his hand.

"Then you know what it does, which is good meaning I can skip the explanation, and just do this!" Kai grabbed the Blue Eyes in his hand, placing the card next to his new Blue Eyes monster. A second dragon roared, as it appeared on Kai's field.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

This was enough to make even Yumei nervous. Then again, these were the Blue Eyes White Dragons. Any duelist would be nervous facing down such powerful monsters. "Yu is gonna need some serious luck to get past those two dragons…"

"You sound nervous Yumei." Fujin sounded rather smug, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Two Blue Eyes in one turn? Who wouldn't be nervous?" Yumei shot back, as Yuki's turn began.

"Alright, my draw!" Sighing, Yuki thought about what he needed to do, while assesing the cards in his hand. ' _Okay, this is a tight spot. I may have Ancient Rules in my hand, but without a Blue Eyes or another light monster, I can't use it. All I have is-oh! That'll work!'_ "Okay Kai, I'll start things off by unveiling a new monster of my own! First, I'll play Polymarization, and fuse Kumori Dragon with my Blackland Fire Dragon!"

Now it was Kai's turn to look confused. "Uh Yuki, those two monsters don't have a fusion with one another…"

"I know, however the monster I'm summoning requires two normal monsters." Yuki explained sending his two monsters, and fusion card to the graveyard before selecting his new monster from his extra deck slot. "Which is this! First of the Dragons!"

The roar of Yuki's new monster was so loud, it could be heard all the way from the Kaiba Corp building in downtown Domino. The monster itself was a serpentine grey scaled dragon with several large horns jutting out in different directions on its head. The dragon was large enough to wrap itself about the ferry, catching the attention of every student on board.

First of the Dragons **Atk-2700**

"Woah…" Kai stared up at Yuki's new monster with an awed expression, only to be met with a glare from the serpentine dragon.

"Okay…" Fujin shook her head to rid her ears of the loud ringing that came from the roar the dragon had let out. "Impressive, but it's still weaker than Kai's Blue Eyes."

"Fujin…" Alexis was also shaking her head in a similar manner. "When has summoning a weaker monster ever bothered Yuki?"

Fujin remained silent, as Alexis was absolutely right. Yuki always had a plan whenever he dueled, even if he knew his monster at the time couldn't stand up to his opponent's. "Alright, I'll give it to him, Yuki's really smart."

"I appreciate that Fujin." there was a smile on Yuki's face, as he selected another card from his hand. "But, I think I'm really more lucky than smart."

"This coming from the guy who had his placement duel against Lance won from his first hand." Kai countered, giving Yuki a knowing look.

"Hey, I had about six other ways to beat him, It just came down to…" Yuki sighed in resignation, as he realized that his friends were correct. "Okay, I see your point, and while I appreciate it, I doubt I'm as smart as Bastion since I think on my feet, whereas he plans things out weeks in advance. And if you've seen his room, you'll know what I mean. Anyways, back to the duel. I'll play a new spell card; Fighting Spirit! See, by equipping it to a monster, say my new dragon, it gets a boost of 300 attack points for each of my opponent's monsters on the field!"

Kai's eyes widened in shock, as a bright blue aura surrounded Yuki's dragon.

First of the Dragons **Atk-3300**

"Alright, now Yuki's monster is stronger than both of Kai's Blue Eyes." Alexis had a smile on her face.

It was now Yumei's turn to sound smug. "Looks like Kai's in trouble now."

"Alright, now I'll take down your Blue Eyes!" Yuki pointed to the normal Blue Eyes on Kai's field. With another loud roar, Yuki's dragon blasted away Kai's Blue Eyes with a stream of bright red flames that came from its mouth.

 **Kai-LP 3700**

First of the Dragons **Atk-3000**

"Not bad Yuki. Not bad at all." Kai drew his next card with a smile on his face. He then placed a monster card down horizontally on his duel disk. "Alright, I'll summon Golem Dragon in defense mode."

A large wingless dragon that looked to be made of stone, with rather large front claws appeared on Kai's field. As it was in defense mode, its large arms covered its face.

Golem Dragon **Def-2000**

First of the Dragons **Atk-3300**

"And here's the best part about this particular dragon." Kai continued. "You can't attack any other of my dragon monsters other than this one. And I think it might be worth sacrificing my dragon's attack, but I'll use my Alternative White Dragon's effect, and destroy your monster!"

"Uh-oh..." Alexis began, as Kai's new Blue Eyes blasted Yuki's dragon with a bright burst of energy from its mouth. "I think Yuki might have made a mistake not destroying that Blue Eyes."

When the attack was over, everyone with the exception of Yuki was rather shocked to see that his dragon was still on the field.

"Okay… what just happened…?" Kai asked, more confused than anyone else.

"It's my dragons effect." Yuki began, with a smirk on his face. "See, my dragon can't be destroyed by anything other than a normal monster. Which means that your Blue Eyes can't destroy my new monster."

"Well.." Kai chuckled with a shrug, while setting a card face down. "Guess that's that for my turn."

"Alright then, my draw!" Yuki sighed, as he looked at his next card. Not something he could use at the moment. "Okay then, I'll attack your Golem Dragon!"

With another stream of fire, Kai's dragon was blasted away. But the other Obelisk lost no life points, due to his dragon being in defense mode.

First of the Dragons **Atk-3000**

"Okay, if that's everything." Kai began, drawing his next card. The look he got when he saw the card he had just drawn didn't sit well with Yuki. "Get ready Yuki." Kai flipped up his face down card. The trap card Call of the Haunted. "Now I'll bring back my Blue Eyes from the graveyard!"

Kai's Blue Eyes roared as it was brought back from the graveyard.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

First of the Dragons **Atk-3300**

"Next, I'll activate the spell card; White Dragon Ritual!" When Kai held up his new spell card, Yuki felt his stomach drop.

"All I need to do is sacrifice a monster with four or more stars." Kai showed Yuki his Hyozanryu monster card, before discarding it to the graveyard. "And I can summon Paladin of White Dragon!"

Yuki began feeling rather nervous while Kai's monster; a knight wearing silver and gold armor, who rode what looked to be a young Blue Eyes, materialized on his field.

Paladin of White Dragon **Atk-1900**

"But it doesn't end there!" Kai had a victorious look on his face, as he continued his play. "By tributing my Paladin, I can summon another Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Kai's paladin vanished, only to be replaced by a third blue scaled dragon.

Blue Eyes Whie Dragon **Atk-3000**

Alexis had arrived at the same conclusion the same time Yuki did. "This isn't good…"

"And I think you know where I'm going with this." Kai said, while selecting the next card in his hand. The spell card Polymarization, which made Yuki's stomach drop. Kai was really gonna summon the Ultmate Dragon. "Now my dragons fuse together, and the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon rises!"

Yuki looked up at the three-headed dragon in shock. It was only a few weeks ago he had summoned this monster, and it was incredibly intimidating to be on the opposite end of this dragon.

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon **Atk-4500**

First of the Dragons **Atk-3000**

"Time to return the favor from that tag duel!" Kai called out from atop the middle head of his Ultimate Dragon. "Attack! Ultimate Burst Stream!"

Yuki had to shield his eyes, as the combined attack from the three dragon heads hit his monster.

 **Yuki-LP 2500**

"Well… It's a good thing that dragon can't attack three times." Yuki said while rubbing his eyes, and much to Kai's shock, Yuki's dragon was still there.

"How…?" Kai blinked in shock. "Ultimate Dragon is a normal monster, so your dragon should have been destroyed.

"It's my equip card." Yuki was still blinking, almost like trying to blink away the flash of a camera. "If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, I can destroy the card instead."

"You are really persistent in keeping that dragon on your field." Kai chuckled as his turn ended.

"Says the guy who's just as obsessed with the Blue Eyes as Seto is." Yuki shot back, smiling as he drew his next card. He smiled as he slotted it into his duel disk. "Alright, I play Monster Reborn, and I'll bring back a monster from your graveyard! Come back, Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

Now it was Kai's turn. His eyes went wide, and his stomach dropped when Yuki brought back his Blue Eyes.

Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"And then I'll use his effect! By sacrificing its attack, I can destroy one monster on your field!" Yuki pointed to the only monster Kai had. "Say goodbye to your Ultimate Dragon!"

Alternative Dragon roared, and let out a stream of energy from its mouth. The attack blasted straight through the chest of the Ultimate Dragon, which shattered into pixels seconds later.

"But I'm not done there!" Yuki took a card from his hand, and showed it to Kai. It was the Ancient Rules spell card that Kai had given to him for the holiday. "I'll play my own Ancient Rules, and summon my own Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Yuki's Blue Eyes, the one given to him by Kai himself, roared as it appeared on Yuki's field.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"Now it ends. First of Dragons, attack!" The large serpentine dragon let out another roar before its flames engulfed Kai.

 **Kai-LP 1000**

"Blue Eyes! Direct attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!" At his words, Yuki's dragon roared, before blasting away the remainder of Kai's life points.

 **Kai-LP 0000**

Yuki let out a sigh of relief, not because he had overcome such a powerful monster like the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, but because he hadn't felt Mythic trying to influence.

"You've gotten better." Kai smiled, while clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I honestly thought I had you there."

"In all honestly, you would have, if it wasn't for that equip card." Yuki laughed lightly, before the captain of the ferry announced they would be arriving at the island within the hour.

* * *

"You didn't tell them about that dream you've been having." Yumei said. Now back in the Obelisk dorm, Yuki's twin sister was sitting cross-legged on his bed, fixing her brother with an odd look.

"Yeah…" Yuki sighed. "With everything going on with finding out about Atticus, I don't want to put anything else on their plates at the moment.

Yumei frowned, as she made to say something, but her twin had a point. "Alright, but you'll have to tell them at some point."


	24. Chapter 24

**Before you all read, I realized that I screwed up on the effect that Trischula of the Ice Barrier has. The effect that I gave it allows it to negate the effect of an opponent's monster. The effect that it is supposed to have, is to remove a card in your opponent's back row, graveyard, and hand. It turns out that the Trischula card I have is actually a misprint, which is why I used the effect I did during the tag duel.**

 **Anyways, I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!**

Several days had passed since winter break had ended, and that particular day being a Wednesday meant that it was a gym day. This particular day all three dorms were sharing a gym class supervised by Miss Fontaine.

"Alright class, get your game on!" Miss Fontaine exclaimed rather cheerfully, holding up a tennis racket. "Tennis game that is!"

Every student had been paired up in a doubles match. This particular day had paired up Alexis and Fujin, against Kai and Yuki. Kai was decent at tennis, while Yuki was awful at this particular sport.

"How can someone who is so good at dueling, be so bad at other sports?" Fujin laughed. Her question being directed at Yuki, before she served the bright green ball over the net, only for Kai to send it back.

"You think this is bad?" Even Yuki had to laugh at how terrible he was at this point. "Just be glad the academy doesn't have a golf course-oh crap! Head's up Alexis!" Yuki had gotten a lucky return swing in after Fujin had sent the ball his way. The only problem, was that ball was heading straight for Alexis. And would have made contact, had someone else not intervened, to whack it away.

The four Obelisks, as well as Jaden, and Cyrus turned to see the ball sail away … and nail Dr. Crowler in the eye. The same eye he had been hit in with baseball during a previous gym class, which made the six wince in pain. That shiner of Dr. Crowler's had just begun to heal, and now it looked like he'd have to deal with another.

"That was a close call." The newcomer spoke up. He was another Obelisk with rather long brown hair, someone that both Fujin and Kai recognised as Harrington, the captain of the Duel Academy tennis club. He turned his attention to Alexis, giving her a wink. "Need me to carry you to the nurse?"

Alexis made a rather disgusted noise, as she pushed past him to go and check on Dr. Crowler. "Ugh, no thank you…"

"Uh, Dr. Crowler…?" Kai gave the head of the Obelisk dorm a light shake. After taking that tennis ball to the eye, the man landed in a rather comical crumpled heap, but quickly made his way to his feet, his one good eye zeroing in on Jaden who had wandered over.

"YOU!" Crowler's outburst made those who were gathered around either jump in shock, or take a step back. "You're in big trouble slacker!"

"What?" Jaden sounded shocked at this, mainly because he had nothing to do with Crowler getting nailed in the eye this time. "But I didn't do anything!"

"Save your excuses for later!" Crowler growled, quickly dragging Jaden away by the ear.

Yuki frowned, as that didn't sit right with him. Why was Jaden being blamed for something he didn't do? "Uh, I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Hey, where are you…? And he's gone…" Kai shrugged watching Yuki go after Crowler and Jaden.

* * *

Yuki had followed Dr. Crowler to the nurses office, where he could hear the head of his dorm berating the Slifer student for something that wasn't even his fault. Rolling his eyes, and having a suspicion that he knew who it was who continued to try and get Jaden into trouble, Yuki entered the nurses office.

"Uh, excuse me." Yuki spoke up. "Dr. Crowler, you getting hit by that tennis ball wasn't Jaden's fault."

"I told you." Jaden gave his friend a thumbs up as he spoke to the head of Obelisk.

Dr. Crowler looked between both students, and let out a sigh of resignation. "Alright Yuki, I'll hear you out…"

"That ball never would have hit you if it wasn't for someone else interfering." Yuki explained.

Miss Fontaine, who was also present in the infirmary, also confirmed Yuki's story. "It's true Dr. Crowler, I saw the entire thing. If Harrington didn't act, that ball never would have hit you."

"The captain of the tennis team?" Crowler asked at the mention of the name.

"I guess." Yuki answered his dorm head's question with a shrug. "I'm not too good at tennis, and even worse at golf, so I don't really pay attention to who's on the school sport teams. But, to repeat what's been said for the upteenth time, if he hadn't interfeered in that doubles match, you wouldn't have that black eye."

Crowler sighed, and rubbed his eyelids with the tips of his fingers. Only to forget his eye was injured, and yelped in pain the second he touched his black eye. "Alright, well there's nothing for it, but to have you _and_ you." He added with an icy look to Jaden. "Get a little more practice in."

"Wait." Jaden whined, looking at Dr. Crowler. "Why do I have to go through with it?"

"Because you didn't try hard enough to convince me you didn't hit me with that tennis ball slacker!"

* * *

In the girls locker room, Alexis had just finished changing when she was approached by her two friends Jasmine and Mindy.

"Alexis, we found out who that tennis guy is for you." Jasmine began rather excitedly.

' _Oh no, here we go again…'_ Alexis thought, and with a sigh she turned to her friends. "I don't recall asking you two to do that for me."

"Well, his name is Harrington Rosewood. He's the heir to Rosewood Sporting goods, and a third year Obeli-" Jasmine continued, before Alexis brushed past her two friends.

"Not interested." She said with a shake of her head.

"Told you." Mindy turned to her friend, fixing Jasmine with an 'I told you so' look on her face.

"Really, you would pass on a guy like that?" Jasmine asked rather shocked.

"Jasmine, she's saying that Harrington isn't her type." Mindy sighed, while rolling her eyes.

"Exactly." Alexis sounded relieved that this could be put behind them. At least until she heard what Jasmine said next.

"Oh, so that means she does like Yuki!" Jasmine's comment made Alexis' face go bright red. Thankfully, she was spared further embarrassment, when she caught Syrus dragging both Kai and Yumei through the halls.

"Syrus! Slow down!" Kai was nearly tripping over his feet trying to keep up with the smaller Slifer.

Syrus was clearly panicking, and it looked like he was searching rather frantically for someone or something. "Oh man, where's the lousy tennis team."

"Uh, Alexis…" Yumei fixed her friend, who had just exited the changing room with a look that pleaded for help. "Where would the tennis team meets up?"

"Out on the court…" Alexis looked rather puzzled at all of this. "Why? What's going on?"

"The most unfair thing!" Syrus began. "Dr. Crowler is making both Jaden and Yuki run drills with that tennis nut for hitting him with that tennis ball!"

"Wait, what?" Alexis sounded clearly shocked, and slightly angry. "But neither of them hit him."

* * *

Out on the court, Yuki and Jaden were being served tennis balls by Harrington who seemed to have a cannon for an arm, as it was all they could do to avoid being hit, let alone return swing.

"I thought we were doing tennis, not speed drills…" Jaden sounded exhausted, and was knocked to the ground after a particularly hard swing from Harrington.

"Yeah… no kidding…" Yuki was gasping for air, just barely avoiding an oncoming serve.

"Come on you two, no pain no gain. Gotta hustle to build that muscle. Pick up the pace to win the race." Harrington laughed, while winding up for another serve. This made both Jaden and Yuki groan.

"Okay, we get it…" Jaden groaned.

"Yeah, let off the sports cliches…"

"First rule of tennis." Harrington huffed. "There's no I in the word 'team'. Moving on, it's time to work on both forehand and backhands. I think one thousand serves should make tennis more your racket, get it?" He laughed, serving the next ball.

"Oh I get it, this guy's nuts." Yumei groaned, having just arrived at the tennis court alongside Kai, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy, with Fujin following close behind.

"Maybe he's not boyfriend material after all…" Jasmine rubbed the back of her head, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her for suggestion.

After the first ten strokes, Yuki had enough of this guy. Deciding he would do whatever it took to return one of those insane serves of Harrington … and actually managed to return the next serve. Knocking the ball back to the athletic cliche-loving Obelisk. Catching him right between the eyes, and knocking him to the ground.

"Nice shot…" Jaden groaned, shakily getting back to his feet.

Yuki was hunched over, and managed to give his Slifer friend a thumbs up. "I get lucky every now and then…" He groaned, before collapsing to the ground.

"Alright, come on up buddy." Kai said, slowly getting Yuki back onto his feet. "You two alright?"

"If dying of heatstroke constitutes as 'alright'..." Yuki replied, earning a laugh from Kai as Alexis handed her two friends a bottle of water each from the cooler Harrington had brought.

"You guys are lifesavers, thank you." Yuki happily gulped down about half the bottle, before dumping the rest of it onto his head. Something Alexis and Kai had to try their hardest to not laugh at.

By that point, Harrington had recovered, and was looking like he was about to spew flames at the sight in front of him. "It should be me who's drinking that water. Alright, time to run some interference. Hey!" He shouted, marching up to the group in similar fashion to an old fashioned cartoon villain. His focus solely on Yuki. "You can't just talk to a first round pick like Alexis. You can't even return a tennis ball, so you stay away from my little Obelisk Pixie!"

Yuki nearly choked on the second water bottle Alexis handed him. "Obelisk what!?" He choked out, looking just as shocked as everyone else.

"I'm warning you Yuki." Harringon glared at the exhausted Obelisk. "You stay away from the beautiful girl!"

By then, Yuki was done. "First, you don't tell me what to do. Second, this whole thing is your fault! Jaden and I wouldn't even be here, if it wasn't for you! Learn to mind your own business!"

"And third!" Alexis interjected, stepping in front of Yuki. "I'm his friend, and you of all people don't get to decide he can't be around me! … oh, and fourth. If you call me Obelisk Pixie again, I'll give you a serve you won't soon forget!"

"Well, I guess the huddle's over then." Kai said with a shrug. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Hey, we're not done yet!" Harrington growled. "When the huddle's over, you gotta battle!"

"No thanks." Yuki shook his head, as he turned to leave. "I'm done with tennis for the rest of my life."

"Oh no, you and I are gonna duel right here, right now! Winner becomes Alexis' fiance!" Harrington's declaration made Yuki freeze, and caused his as well as Alexis' face to turn bright red. Though, while Yuki was red in the face out of embarrassment, Alexis was absolutely furious.

"He can't be serious…" Mindy said, while she and Jasmine positioned themselves on either side of Alexis, in case they needed to hold her back.

"Not a chance in hell." Yuki said, after a few moments. "I'm not putting Alexis in that position. Besides, I already dueled one nut-case who had the same schtick you do."

"Alright then, I'll duel him." Alexis was glaring daggers at Harrington at this point, and was heavily considering making good on her threat from earlier.

"Hang on, you can't just duel to become your own fiance…" Harrington shook his head, like that was the last thing he wanted.

"Fine then." Alexis sighed, turning to Yuki. "Care to help me turn the tables?"

Yuki then fixed his friend with a rather confused look on his face. "What do you mean by that?"

"Simple." Alexis held up her duel disk, after slotting her Cyber Angel deck into the main slot. "We both duel him. He seemed to think it was fair, when he was serving tennis balls at you and Jaden."

"I'm in." Alexis didn't have to finish her explanation, as Yuki already had his duel disk at the ready.

"Wait, time out!" Harrington looked between the two other Obelisks who looked more than ready to destroy him. "Th-this isn't fair!"

"Oh well." Alexis said, activating her duel disk.

"Sucks to be you." Yuki readied his dragon deck, before activating his. "It's time to play the game!"

"Duel!"

 **Alexis-LP 4000**

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Harrington-LP 4000**

"Normally I would say 'ladies first'." Yuki began, drawing his sixth card. "But this guy has been driving me crazy all afternoon, so I'm ready to wipe the court with this guy."

Alexis simply shrugged. "Fine by me Yuki. Let's just take this guy down."

"Oh, I intend to." Yuki selected one of his cards. "Let's see how you stack up to this tennis boy, I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!" After placing the selected card on his duel disk, Yuki's brightly scaled dragon roared as it appeared on his field.

Alexandrite Dragon **Atk-2000**

"Next, I'll set the field." He groaned at the bad joke. "And after apologising for that stupid joke, I'll play the field spell Fusion Gate, so there's no need for us to use Polymarization."

"Nice play partner." Alexis gave Yuki a smile, that only infuriated Harrington all the more. Alexis then, after Yuki set a third card face down, drew her sixth card. "Alright, my turn. And after setting a card face down, I summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode."

The cute female warrior that Alexis had used in her duel with Yuki giggled, and gave a little pirouette as she appeared on her field.

Etoile Cyber **Atk-1200**

"That'll do it for now." Alexis said, ending her turn.

"Right, time for a return serve." Harrington said, drawing his next card. "Okay, I activate the spell card Service Ace. Here's how it works: I pick a card from my hand, and you guess whether or not it's a spell, trap, or a monster card. If you guess correctly, you're good. If not, you get nailed for 1500 points of damage." Harrington held up his chosen card, which caused Alexis and Yuki to look at one another.

"You're the lucky one." Alexis said. "You should guess."

"You sure?" Yuki asked, while looking between Alexis and Harrington. "If I guess wrong, one of us is taking damage."

"Don't worry, I trust you." Alexis' words made Yuki's cheeks flush lightly, and Harrington scowl.

"Alright, I choose monster." Yuki said, while pointing to the card in Harrington's hand. And judging from the look on Harrington's face, it looked like he had chosen correctly.

"Correct. So I'll set two cards face down." He slid the chosen cards into his duel disk. "And call an end to my turn."

"Right, my draw!" Yuki felt his stomach flip excitedly. "Alright, I summon Delta Flyer in attack mode!" Yuki announced, setting the card onto his duel disk, which caused the small brown dragon to appear next to Alexandrite Dragon.

Delta Flyer **Atk-1500**

"Hey, that's the monster you used against Kai and Fujin in the tag duel last semester isn't it?" Alexis eyed the smaller dragon curiously, to which Yuki nodded.

"Yeah, and let me remind you of its effect." Yuki said, before continuing. Though he did enjoy the confused look on Harrington's face. "I can raise any monster's level by one, so I'll use it on Delta Flyer."

"Here it comes." Fujin said, remembering the tag duel.

"Alexandrite Dragon, a four star monster. Delta Flyer, a three star monster elevated to a four star monster. With a total of eight stars, I can summon a monster so cold, it will freeze that burning love you have for this sport! Rise, Trischula of the Ice Barrier!" At Yuki's words, the air chilled. A literal blizzard formed out of nowhere, encircling the three duelists. When it died down, there was a large dragon with snow white scales, and icy blue eyes stood where Yuki's two dragon's had been.

Trischula of the Ice Barrier **Atk-2700**

Normally, Yuki hated the cold. However, he had nearly passed out from heat stroke, so the cold air given off by his icy dragon felt incredible. "Unfortunately since you don't have an effect monster on your field, I can't negate its effect with Trischula, so I'll settle for attacking you directly!"

"Oh know you won't!" Harrington said, flipping up his trap card. "This trap card is known as Return Ace! I don't take any battle damage, _and_ I can tail you for 1500 points of damage!"

"Crap…" Yuki groaned, while his dragon's attack deflected off of Harrington's trap card.

 **Yuki-LP 2500**

"So much for that so called luck of yours." Harrington smirked. "That's 15 luv. Don't worry my little Obelisk Pixie, I'm a far better partner than dragon boy here."

"Call me that one more time. I dare you." Alexis growled. "And don't forget you have to discard three cards due to your trap card."

Harrington simply shrugged, while discarding three cards from the top of his deck. "That's fine by me, now I believe it's your turn my dear."

An angry tick was going in both Alexis and Yuki's forehead. "Yuki, I swear if you don't take him down, I will." She growled drawing her next card.

"Oh feel free." Yuki sounded just as infuriated as Alexis.

"Alright, let's see how he likes this." Alexis held up her card, which was her Blade Skater. "Thanks to my partner here, I don't need to use a fusion card. So I can fuse my Blade Skater with my Etoile Cyber, and summon my Blade Skater!"

The two chosen monsters were sucked into a vortex, and Alexis' blue and red colored monster emerged from that vortex seconds later.

Blade Skater **Atk-2100**

"But I'm not done there! I activate Cost Down!" Alexis said, sliding the spell card into her duel disk. "By discarding one card to my graveyard, I can lower a monster's level. So, I'd like to introduce you to my Black Magician Girl!"

"Woah, hold on!" Mindy said, rather shocked at the reveal of Alexis' monster. "When did she get that card?"

Black Magician Girl **Atk-2000**

"Who cares?" Syrus had a dreamy tone in his voice, and there were hearts in his eyes while he got a look at Alexis' new monster.

"Another beautiful card, such as yourself." Harrington winked at Alexis, which made both her and her monsters recoil in disgust.

"Don't even think about it." Alexis glared at Harrington. "See, this is a new card. And a special one at that, since my partner here." She gave Yuki a smile, which made his cheeks flush. "Gave it to me."

Harrington's jaw went slack as he looked from Alexis, to her monster, then over to Yuki. He repeated this process several times, as his brain attempted to process Alexis' words.

Taking advantage of his momentary silence, Alexis spoke up. "Alright guess it's time for me to end this! Black Magician Girl, attack directly! Black Burning!"

Alexis' new monster pointed her staff at Harrington, and the male Obelisk got nailed by the sphere of dark magic.

 **Harrington-LP 2000**

"Now Cyber Skater, take him down!" Alexis was all set to end this duel, before Harrington revealed his face down.

"Not so fast my dear, I still have a second trap!; Nutrient Z!" Harrington smirked, at the reveal of his card. "See, whenever I'm about to take more than 2000 points of damage, I can increase my life points by 4000!"

 **Harrington-LP 6000**

"Well, you're still not stopping my attack!" Alexis smirked, as her monster nailed the Obelisk in the stomach with a diving kick.

"Ouch, and she wears heels…" Yuki winced, having remembered the kick that Etoile Cyber had given him months ago.

 **Harrington-LP 4900**

"Well, looks like it's your turn McEnroe." Alexis' comment made Yuki snort with laughter.

"You stole my line." Yuki was nearly doubled over in laughter, as Harrington drew his next card.

"Well speaking of McEnroe, I'll summon the monster Big Server!" Harrington's creature looked more mechanical than man, with a large tennis racket.

Big Server **Atk-300**

"And the reason he's so big, is that he can attack you directly!" Harrington smirked, as his monster whacked a flaming tennis ball straight at Yuki.

 **Yuki-LP 2200**

"Hang on, why is he only attacking Yuki?" Jasmine asked. There was a frown on her face, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Simple." Kai answered, and Fujin finished for him.

"He wants to humiliate him." The purple haired Obelisk continued. "Make him look bad in front of Alexis."

"So, he's essentially disregarding Alexis." Jasmin huffed.

"He's making a mistake." Mindy shook her head in disapproval. "That's gonna come back to bite him."

"And I'm not done there." Harrington said, while holding up a spell card. "I'm equipping my monster with this; Giant Racket. With this card, he can't be destroyed in battle once, and I don't take any damage. Oh! But I'm not done there! See my Big Server has another effect, and that is I can add a Service Ace to my hand. Of course you get a card too, but nothing you draw is gonna compare to this!"

"Monster." Yuki said, which made Harrington blink in surprise, and then scowl when he revealed Mystical Shine Ball. "Looks like lady luck is on my side."

"She's not the only one." Alexis gave Yuki a wink, which made him blush, and caused Harrington's scowl to deepen. "So, how are we gonna take this guy down?"

' _Hatchling…'_

"I've got an idea." Yuki had to shake his head, having heard Mythic's voice in his head.

"Hey, are you alright?" Alexis sounded concerned.

Yuki fixed her with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Anyways, this is how we're gonna beat him." He held up the card he just drew, which made Alexis go wide eyed, then fix him with a smile.

"Alright, do it!"

"Hope you're ready Harrington, and even if you aren't … well too bad!" Yuki slotted his new card into his duel disk. "I play the Eye of Timaeus!"

Harrington, as well as everyone else went wide eyed at the reveal of Yuki's card. Everyone except Yumei and Kai, as those two knew that Yuki possessed that particular card.

"Knew there was only a matter of time until he played it." Kai had an excited look on his face.

"About time!" Yumei replied, with a look to match the one on Kai's face.

"Alexis, you mind?" Yuki asked, turning to his partner.

The female Obelisk simply smiled, and gave him a nod. "What's mine is yours partner."

"Alright then, I'll fuse Alexis' Black Magician Girl." Yuki began, while discarding a dragon monster from his hand. "And another monster, and I'll summon a new monster! Black Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!"

Yuki's dragon, as well as Alexis' Black Magician girl were sucked into a vortex, and soon after, a dragon with dark green scales that clearly was Timaeus himself, emerged from the vortex. On its back was the Black Magician Girl, now clad in a knight's armor, now weilding a sword in lieu of her staff.

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight **Atk-2600**

"She's beautiful…" Syrus had the same dreamy tone in his voice once again.

"You like her now." Yuki looked over his shoulder at the Slifer with a smile on his face. "Wait until you see her effect. By discarding one card, she can destroy one monster on my opponent's field!"

Harrington went pale at Yuki's words. "Wait what?"

"If you were gonna ask for a time out." Yuki discarded his chosen card as he spoke. "That's not happening!"

Timaeus let out a mighty roar, and blasted away Big Server with a burst of flame.

"Yuki, I think it's time to end this." Alexis said with a smirk on her face.

"I couldn't agree more! Trischula, Timaeus!" Yuki looked to Alexis, and her smirk turned into a smile as she knew just what he wanted.

"Burn it down!" The two Obelisks said in unison, ordering their monsters to attack Harrington, who was engulfed by a combination of ice and fire breath.

 **Harrington-LP 0000**

"Glad that's over." Yuki sighed in relief, before handing Alexis back the ghost rare Black Black Magician Girl.

"Not just yet." Alexis had an evil glint in her eye, before walking over to Harrington. "Just because you lost, I do have something to give you."

Harrington looked up hopefully, only for his eyes to roll up in pain. Alexis had kicked him square between the legs, which him crumple to the ground, and caused Yuki, Kai, Syrus, and Jaden to groan.

"Owww…"

"That's gonna hurt in the morning…"

"I think it's hurting now…"

"I am not some prize to be won!" She said to the tennis loving Obelisk in an icy tone, aiming to kick him again, only to be stopped when Jasmine and Mindy pulled him back.

* * *

"You know, I realized something." Fujin spoke up, as everyone made their way to the Obelisk Dorms. Rather, almost everyone as Jaden and Syrus had broken off to go back to the Slifer dorms. "Since Yuki dealt the finishing blow to Harrington, that means he's your fiance Alexis."

Yuki stopped dead in his tracks. His face now bright red. "Wait, that stipulation was still in effect!?"

"I guess…" Alexis was equally red in the face. "Since neither of us said anything about it…"

"Alright, come on." Fujin said, ushering her two friends towards the Obelisk dorm. "We''ve got a wedding to plan."

"Fujin!" Both Alexis and Yuki squeaked out in protest.


	25. Chapter 25

Jaden was making his way to the card shack accompanied by Yuki, and it was only when they were closer that they noticed there was a crowd gathered, and a rather large one at that. The two boys shared a look, before deciding to find out what was going on.

"Hey, what's happening?" Yuki asked, approaching Bastion after having found him closer to the front of the crowd.

"Is it eggwitch day?" Jaden asked, while stepping up to his other two friends.

Bastion shook his head. "Just a little lunchtime tussle."

"A duel?" Jaden asked, sounding rather excited while turning his attention to the combatants. "Hey Cy!" Jaden called, recognising his friend but not the other duelist. "What's going on?"

"A high stakes duel." Cyrus explained pointing to a poster to his left, which showed a picture of Yugi Muoto. "Yugi's deck is going on tour, and the first stop is Duel Academy. Isn't that the coolest?"

"Yeah, it is. Yugi's the best duelist in the world, and that deck is history." Jaden said in awe, causing Yuki to shake his head.

"I don't want to be that guy Jaden, but that's technically the pharaoh's deck." The Obelisk corrected, pointing to the poster where the Black Magician was shown behind Yugi. "Still though, that deck has been with both Yugi and the pharaoh since Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. It might not have the Egyptian Gods in it anymore, but that deck is still legendary."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get tickets!" Jaden exclaimed rather excitedly, which caused Bastion to laugh.

"That's what this duel is about." Bastion explained, as he gently pulled Jaden back from Cyrus. "There's only one ticket left."

"And whoever wins, gets the last ticket." Dorothy, the kind-hearted older woman who ran the card shack added, as she stepped up to the two students. "Can you imagine a duel with a better prize?"

"Yeah, one with two tickets." Jaden replied.

"Why? Are you planning on bringing someone?" Cyrus asked, turning his attention back to his friend. "Because I've already got one."

"So, you're dueling so I can go?" There was an excited tone in Jaden's voice.

Cyrus gave his friend a thumbs up. "Yup, and I'm gonna win!"

"So… who's Cyrus dueling?" Jaden asked, finally getting a look at Cyrus' opponent. A Ra student with a green scarf that was rather tattered. He had rather spiky dark brown hair with light brown highlights. Someone Yuki and Bastion recognized.

"That's Dimitri." Yuki explained. There was a slight frown on his face, as well as Bastion's. "Wonder who he's copying now?"

"Copying?" Jaden asked, turning his attention to Yuki.

"Yeah. See Dimitri doesn't have a deck of his own. He copies other duelists instead." Yuki sighed, shaking his head in disapproval. "When I dueled him, he was using a copy of Zane's deck."

* * *

 _Yuki who was a Ra Yellow at the time, was facing down a Cyber Twin Dragon, and the situation only got more dire for him. It had been two turns since the effect of Different Dimension Time Capsule had activated. Which meant that whatever monster had been sent to the out of play zone, was about to come back._

 _Dimitri smirked in a similar fashion to Zane. What really weirded Yuki out, was that Dimitri was beginning to speak exactly like the strongest Obelisk Blue at the academy, and had even dressed in similar fashion to said Obelisk. "It's been two turns, and now my monster comes out. Rise, Cyber Dragon!"_

Cyber Dragon **Atk-2100**

" _Now I'll activate the spell card; De-fusion. That will split my Twin Dragon into its base form. But neither will be sticking around for long." Dimitri said, sounding exactly like Zane. "Now I activate Power Bond. Now I can fusion summon my strongest monster. Cyber End Dragon!"_

 _The three Cyber Dragons were sucked into a vortex, and in their place rose a large three-headed mechanical dragon._

Cyber End Dragon **Atk-4000**

" _But it doesn't end there. Due to Power Bond's effect, my monster's attack is now doubled."_

Cyber End Dragon **Atk-8000**

 _Yuki shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You won't get a chance to use it. I activate my trap card; Threatening Roar! Now you can't attack me this turn! And unfortunately for you, since you used Power Bond, you're about to be on the receiving end of some serious damage!"_

 _Dimitri's eyes went wide in shock, and he let his impression of Zane slip. "N-no… this can't be happening…!"_

 _Cyber End Dragon then exploded, taking out Dimitri's life points._

 **Dimitri-LP 0000**

* * *

"Woah, you beat Zane's deck?" Jaden sounded rather awed at Yuki's recounting of his duel with Dimitri.

"Yeah, but don't get ahead of me here." Yuki replied. "Just because I beat the deck doesn't mean I beat Zane. It's just the fact that Cyber Dragon's and Power Bond are really easy to get over if you know how to counter them. In fact, I'm pretty sure if I was actually dueling Zane, he would have a backup plan in place."

"What's this about dueling Zane?" Yumei asked, joining her twin and their friends. "Ooo, who's duel-oh… him."

"You too?" Jaden asked, to which Yumei nodded.

* * *

 _Dimitri laughed, which reminded Yumei of Seto Kaiba. The male Ra even dressed like the head of the Kaiba Corporation, all the way down to Dimitri's hair style. "It's time to end this! I play Polymarization, and fuse my Blue Eyes together, and summon the ultimate form of my dragons! Rise! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Dimitri continued to laugh, as the legendary three headed dragon rose onto his field._

Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon **Atk-4500**

" _Now that's impressive." Yumei, who also disapproved of Dimitri's copying of other decks, did have to give her fellow Ra props for being able to bring out the powerful fusion dragon. "Still, that's not going to save you from losing this duel."_

" _What are you talking about?" Dimitri laughed, as his monster snarled at Yumei. "My Ultimate Dragon has enough power to end this duel right now. It doesn't matter which monster I attack, because once I do I win!" Again, Dimitri laughed in similar fashion to Kaiba._

" _Because, you won't be attacking me this turn." Yumei now had a smirk on her face, as she revealed her face down trap card. "With Call of the Haunted, I can bring back a monster from my graveyard. And I chose Valkyrian Knight!"_

 _Yumei's regal looking warrior then appeared onto her field, having risen from her graveyard._

Valkyrian Knight **Atk-1900**

" _And with two of them back on my field, it means you don't get to attack me at all." The Ra smirked, which made Dimitri scowl._

" _Fine, go ahead and draw your last pathetic card Yumei." Dimitri growled, having ended his turn._

" _My deck has no pathetic card Dimitri." Yumei replied rather calmly, as she drew her next card. "But it does contain this! Gilford the Legend! By tributing the three monsters on my field, I can special summon him!"_

 _Yumei's three monsters, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and her two Valkyrian knights vanished, as a heavily muscled warrior then took their place._

Gilford the Legend **Atk-2800**

" _Oh, and then there's his special effect." Yumei added. "If he's summoned by tributing three monsters, I can destroy all monsters you control!"_

" _Wait what!?" Dimitri dropped his Kaiba impression upon hearing that little piece of information. Gilford then raised his blade, causing lightning to strike the weapon. And upon bringing his large sword down, the Ultimate Dragon shattered._

" _And that's just his special effect, I still have his attack! Gilford, direct attack!" Yumei's monster leapt into the air, and brought his blade down in a heavy strike which wiped out the male Ra's life points._

 **Dimitri-LP 0000**

* * *

"Seriously?" Jaden was wide-eyed at Yumei's story. "You beat Kaiba's deck?"

"Yeah." Yumei gave Dimitri a disapproving look. "He's copied more decks than that. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against copying a deck or buying a deck core. You know, in case you're curious on how it works, and you're interested in making a deck around the same archetype. But with what Dimitri's doing, it's just… wrong."

"Hey, can we get back to the duel?" Syrus asked while rubbing the back of his head. The Hyoudou twins story had taken all the attention away from his duel. "Anyways, it was your turn."

"Very well young scholar." Jaden and the Hyoudou twins took a step back, as Dimitri sounded just like Dr. Crowler. Though it was only a few moments later, that the twins facepalmed in unison. "I play Heavy Storm, and destroy all spell and trap cards on the field!"

A large gust of wind made everyone shield their faces. Though the only cards on the field that were destroyed were Dimitri's, which were revealed to be Statue of the Wicked.

"Wait, that sounds familiar." Jaden mused.

"It should, as Dr. Crowler used that move on you." Bastion said, his arms crossed, as two Wicked Tokens appeared on Dimitri's field.

"Now I'll sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens, and summon the legendary Ancient Gear Golem!" Dimitri swept the two token cards off of his duel disk, and into his graveyard, only to place the powerful machine monster onto his field.

Ancient Gear Golem **Atk-3000**

"That's gotta be some serious Deja Vu." Yuki said to Jaden as he gazed up at the monster.

"Now attack that Jetroid with Mechanised Mele!" Dimitri ordered his monster to attack.

"Not so fast! When Jetroid is attacked, I can activate his effect that allows me to activate a trap card from my hand, like Magic Cylinder!" Syrus declared, slotting the card into his duel disk.

"Wait! Time out!" Dimitri gasped.

"Oh it's over." Yumei had a smirk on her face, as the attack was redirected back at the Ra.

 **Dimitri-LP 0000**

"Wow, you really took him down!" Jaden clapped his friend on the back, after Syrus got away with the win, and the last ticket to boot.

"Well it was easy, since all he did was copy Dr. Crowler's deck. So I was able to figure out my own way to beat him." Syrus had a big smile on his face, as he handed Jaden the last ticket to see Yugi's deck once it was on display.

"Alright kids, duel's over." Dorothy spoke up. "If you're here to buy cards, get in line, if not please move along."

"Another stunning performance by the copycat duelist." A student was overheard saying as they left the card shop.

"He's a Ra, he should have won that duel." Another said, following behind the first student.

"Well, I suppose that's the worst of it." Bastion said, as he made his way over to his fellow Ra.

"Yeah, until I lose again!" Dimitri growled, slamming the floor with his fist in frustration. He quickly got back to his feet, and stormed out. "Well I'm sick of it!"

* * *

That evening at the Ra dorm, Dimitri was positively seething over his latest loss. One of many in an already impressive losing streak. "Why does this keep happening!? I watch, I study, but I keep losing!" He let out a frustrated cry, knocking all the notes on his desk to the floor. "Kai Murassame, Marik Ishtar, even Zane! I can't win no matter who's deck I use!"

On the verge of tears, it was then the poster advertising Yugi's deck floated down in front of him. And in that moment, an idea began to form in his head.

* * *

At around the same time in the Obelisk dorm, the Hyoudou twins were discussing the topic of Yugi's deck, and the duel that had taken place earlier that day for the final ticket.

Yumei let out a sigh, while shaking her head. "You had to be that guy, and say what the difference was between decks?"

"But it _is_ the Pharaoh's deck." Yuki retorted, tapping the Millenium Ring. "And there's one other person in this room who agrees with me."

Yumei shook her head again. There was no arguing with her brother when he got like this. "Okay, so who do you think he'll copy next time?"

Yuki could only shrug. There was really no telling who's deck and personality the copycat duelist would mimic next. "It'd be funny if he tried copying Mai next."

"I don't think Sora would be too happy if that happened." Yumei said before the twins shared a laugh, and then both looked at the poster of Yugi on the wall above Yuki's desk. "So, up for a sneak peak?"

Needing no further prompting than that, Yuki grabbed his jacket, and the two made their way out of the Blue dorm, and towards the main building. And they weren't the only ones who had that idea, as the twins had spotted Bastion, and the Slifer trio heading towards the main building.

And the students weren't the only ones it seemed, who wanted an early viewing of the famous deck. Dr. Crowler was having a conversation with the security team that the academy had hired outside the room where the deck would be displayed.

"Alright Mr. Crowler." One of the guards began, only to be cut off.

"Dr. Crowler!" The odd looking man had an irritated tick mark going in his forehead, as yet another person hadn't used his proper title.

"Right. Anyways, here are the keys, have a good night." The guards stationed at the entrance to the display hall began to walk off, having been relieved by the head of Obelisk Blue. Though that didn't stop them from talking to one another about how odd the man was.

"Yes good night. Very good night." Crowler said, bidding the guards farewell as a rather giddy smile formed on his face. ' _How many people get to say they were in the presence of the greatest deck in the world?'_ Crowler's giddy smile grew while he unlocked the door … only to let out a scream upon finding the glass display case Yugi's deck was supposed to be in smashed, and the deck itself missing.

* * *

The Slifer trio, Bastion, and the Hyoudou twins all froze upon hearing that scream. Thinking that someone was in serious trouble, all five of them rushed towards where they believed the scream had come from.

"Dr. Crowler?" Yumei sounded rather shocked, as she wasn't expecting a scream like that to come from him. Then again, with how odd the man acted, and looked, she really shouldn't have been that surprised. "Impressive lungs."

"Hey, the display case!" Jaden pointed to the smashed case, and immediately everyone turned their attention to where Jaden was pointing, and then looked accusingly at the head of Obelisk.

"He stole Yugi's deck." There was an uncharacteristic growl in chumley's voice. The accusation from the heavy set Slifer, caused Yumei to pat Crowler down, and while she did find a deck on him, it only turned out to be Crowler's Ancient Gear deck.

"No he didn't." She sighed and handed Crowler's deck back to him. "Which means whoever stole the deck is still out there."

"Then we should get moving, they couldn't have gotten far." Yuki said, before the five students rushed out of the main building.

* * *

About an hour later the group, minus Syrus met up on the bridge that connected the docks to the rest of the island.

"Yu and I searched the main building, both Blue dorms and the area around the abandoned dorm." Yumei reported to her friends while shaking her head.

"I had no luck either." Bastion sighed in resignation. "The Ra dorms are clear."

"And there's no sign of the thief near the Slifer dorms either." There was a frown on Jaden's face. "So that just leaves the docks, and the-" Jaden never finished his sentence, as the four friends heard another scream, and the ring on Yuki's neck began glowing.

"Follow the ring." Yuki said, heading in the direction of both the scream and where the ring was leading him. Which turned out to be nearly the exact spot that Jaden and Zane had their duel.

Syrus was slumped on the ground, head hung in defeat as his friends rushed to his aid.

"Sy, what happened?" Concern was evident in Jaden's voice, as he crouched down by his friend.

"He has it…" Syrus groaned, pointing to someone standing on the rocks slightly above him. "Yugi's deck… and he beat me with it…"

Turning their attention to where Syrus pointed, they saw Dimitri standing above them. Though the copycat duelist looked different. His hair style was more spiked out, and he now wore a replica of the Millenium Puzzle around his neck.

"Seriously Dimitri…?" Yuki groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Not only do you steal the deck, now you're trying to dress like the king of games?"

"Dimitri?" Yuki couldn't help but roll his eyes, as the Ra was now trying to impersonate Atem's deep voice. "Dimitri was just a child who would copy other people's decks, and pretend to be them. With these cards, I'm not copying the king of games, I am the king of games! And if you want these cards back, you'll have to prove that I'm not!"

' _Yuki!'_ Mahad appeared beside the Obelisk boy. He was clearly upset at what he was seeing, and could not let this go unpunished. ' _This boy mocks my Pharaoh!'_

"Sy, can I borrow your duel disk?" Yuki asked, holding his hand out despite never breaking eye contact with Dimitri.

Syrus quickly took his duel disk off his arm, and placed it in Yuki's hand. "Are you sure you can do this? That deck is really powerful."

"I know." Yuki attached Syrus' duel disk to his arm, slotting his spellcaster deck into the deck section. "But without the gods, and my luck, I'll have that deck back in no time."

"Duel!"

 **Yuki-LP 4000**

 **Dimitri-LP 4000**

"I'll start things off." Yuki declared,having already drawn his sixth card. "And I'll start by summoning Maha Vilo in attack mode!"

The blue robbed spellcaster appeared on Yuki's field the same way as it appeared in the card's artwork. Legs crossed, and arms folded like the spellcaster was in deep meditation.

Maha Vilo **Atk-1550**

"But I'm not done yet Dimitri, since I have a spell card to play. And that's Black Pendant." As the Obelisk boy slid the equip card into the slot on his duel disk, a necklace of black opals was set about Maha Vilo's neck. "Oh, and there's more. See due to Vilo's effect, he gains an additional 500 attack points for each equip card!"

Maha Vilo **Atk-2550**

"And just like that, Yu's monster is stronger than Yugi's best card." Yumei had a smile on her face. Her twin had just pulled off his favorite combo with this deck on his opening move, and made it so that not even Yugi's Black Magician could stand up to him.

"And to end my turn, I'll set a card face down." Yuki set the card next to his equip card, as his turn came to an end. Though Mahad did appear to speak to the duelist once more.

' _Impressive Yuki, though perhaps I should be the one dueling this impostor.'_

"I'll be alright Mahad." He reassured the spirit. "Besides, You seem upset at Dimitri, and I don't need you starting a shadow game just to teach him a lesson."

Mahad paused for a moment, though conceded moments later. ' _Very well, though if he continues to mock my Pharoah, I will not forgive it.'_

"Duly noted." Yuki nodded. "Alright, your move Dimitri."

"Very well." Dimitri drew, still sounding like Atem as he took his sixth card. "I'll start by-"

"Hold that thought." Yuki cut him off, revealing his face down card. "I'll activate my face down card. Solemn Wishes! Now each time I draw a card, I gain 500 life points!"

"Impressive." Dimitri huffed, as he set a card into his duel disk. "I'll start by fusing Gazelle King of Mythical Beasts, and Berfomet! Now rise, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" The two beast monsters were sucked into a vortex, and soon after a twin headed lion-like monster with a set of wings and a serpent's tail leapt out onto Dimitri's field.

Chimera **Atk-2100**

"However, I am not finished there. I play Mystical Space Typhoon, and destroy your equip card!" Dimitri declared, slotting the card in his duel disk. The resulting gust of wind forced Yuki to shield his eyes with his duel disk as his equip card was destroyed.

Maha Vilo **Atk-1550**

"Hope you didn't forget about Black Pendant's effect." Yuki's words caused Dimitri to give him a confused look. "When you destroy it, you take 500 points of damage!"

Maha Vilo then shot a fireball, that went through Chimera, and struck Dimitri in the chest.

 **Dimitri-LP 3500**

"A small price to pay, as now your monster is no longer as strong as it once was! Chimera, attack! Pulverizing Pounce!" the twin-headed monster roared, before pouncing on the blue robed spellcaster, shattering him under its large paws.

 **Yuki-LP 3550**

"Impressive opening move, but I've got an answer for it! Draw!" As Yuki dre, his trap card glowed with a bright white light.

 **Yuki-LP 4050**

"I'll start off with the spell card, Arcane Barrier!" Yuki slotted the card into his duel disk. "Now each time a spellcaster is destroyed, I place one spell counter on the card. At any point I want to, I can send this card to the graveyard and draw equal to the amount of spell counters that were on the card when I used its effect."

"A smart play, especially due to the deck Dimitri is using." Bastion nodded approvingly, now waiting to see what else Yuki could pull off.

"But wait, there's more! I play this! Fissure!" Yuki's new spell card shocked the Ra impersonating the Pharaoh. The ground beneath the fusion monster was opened up, and the creature fell into the abyss below.

"Not bad, but due to Chimera's effect I can bring back one of the monsters used in his fusion summon! Come back, Berfomet!" The beast type monster roared, as it leapt out of Dimitri's graveyard.

Berfomet **Def-1800**

"Nice ability, and a great way to stave off damage. Still, it won't be around for long. I summon Crusader of Endymon in attack mode!" The new spellcaster was dressed in blue and gold armor, which was thicker at the arms and legs.

Crusader of Endymon **Atk-1900**

"And the best part about this monster, is that when he's summoned to the field, I can place a spell counter on any card that requires one. Like my barrier. And until the end of the turn, my monster gains an extra 600 attack points!"

Crusader of Endymon **Atk-2400**

"Now my crusader attacks!" The spellcaster hit Berfomet with a powerful strike with one of its thick gauntlets, and the beast monster shattered shortly afterwards.

"And finally, to end my turn, I set the last two cards in my hand face down." The two cards appeared on either side of Yuki's continuous spell card.

Crusader of Endymon **Atk-1900**

"Alright then, my turn." Dimitri began, before Yuki cut him off.

"Not just yet!" He said, while flipping his face down card. "I activate Call of the Haunted, and bring back Maha Vilo!"

The blue robes spellcaster rose from the ground, still looking as though he were in a deep meditative state.

Maha Vilo **Atk-1550**

"Well since it's still my turn, I activate Monster Reincarnation! By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, I may bring back one monster in my graveyard to my field! Rise once again, Gazelle King of Mythical Beasts!"

Gazelle roared as it re-entered the field.

Gazelle **Atk-1500**

"And then I activate the magic card Swords of Revealing Light! Now you're unable to attack for the next three turns! And to end my turn, I set a card face down."

"Totally not licious." Chumley huffed, as swords of light surrounded Yuki and his Monsters.

"Tell me about it." Jaden had his arms crossed over his chest. "If Yuki summoned the right monster, he could have won this duel."

"Come on, you should know by now to not count him out of a duel." Yumei shook her head. "Yugi's deck or not, Yu isn't out of this until he's out of life points."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence sis." Yuki said, drawing his next card.

 **Yuki-LP 4550**

"I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode." And upon setting the card onto his field, a more mature version of Black Magician Girl appeared on his field.

Magician's Valkyria **Atk-1600**

All Dimitri could do was smirk. "I'm glad you did that. Because now I can activate my trap card! Black Renewal! When you summon a monster, I can activate this. Now by sacrificing one of your monsters, as well as one of mine, I can bring a spellcaster back from the graveyard!"

"But you don't…" Yuki began, before realizing he was wrong. "Monster Reincarnation. The monster you sent to the graveyard was a spellcaster."

"Exactly, now to bring back that spellcaster!" A red and gold coffin appeared, consuming both Dimitri's and Yuki's monsters. "Now Gazelle, make some room for the one, the only, Black Magician!" The coffin opened up once again, and there he stood. The purple robed spellcaster that was the ace of Atem's deck.

Black Magician **Atk-2500**

"Woah." Jaden sounded star struck. "The headliner of Yugi's deck."

"I think you're forgetting that I also have that card in my deck." Yuki corrected his friend. "In fact, let's introduce him. I activate my own Black Renewal!"

"What!?" Dimitri sounded shocked, and horrified at the reveal of Yuki's trap card.

"Yup! And now by sacrificing your Black Magician, and Maha Vilo." The two spellcasters were sucked into the black and gold coffin that was now on Yuki's field. "I can summon my own Black Magician! "Like before, the coffin opened up, revealing the green robed spellcaster that belonged to the male Hyoudou twin.

Black Magician **Atk-2500**

"But how?" Dimitri asked, still shocked that his move had backfired.

"For two reasons." Yuki held up two fingers. "One, I know how that deck works, because I've seen it in use so many times. Two, you're not the king of games! And I think it's time to give you a dose of reality! Draw!"

 **Yuki-LP 5050**

"And Yuki's pulled ahead in life points." Bastion smirked. "He only needs to get rid of those swords, and he'll have this duel won."

Yuki smirked as he looked at the card in his hand. "Alright, I activate Pot of Greed!"

 **Yuki-LP 6050**

"Alright, I set one card face down, and summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode!" Yuki set both cards into his duel disk, as the regal sword wielding spellcaster appeared on his field.

Neo the Magic Swordsman **Atk-1700**

"And that ends my turn." Yuki said, after slotting both cards into his duel disk.

"Right…" Dimitri sounded more like his normal self, as he drew his next card from Yugi's deck, but smirked and seemed to have his confidence back as he saw what he just drew. "I play the magic card Monster Reborn, and I bring Black Magician back from the graveyard!"

The purple robed spellcaster rose back from Dimitri's graveyard the moment he played the spell card.

Black Magician **Atk-2500**

"But I'm not finished there. I activate my own pot of greed." Dimitri drew two more cards thanks to his own spell cards effect. "And I believe it is time to bring this duel to a close. I play Sages Stone!"

"Uh-oh…" Yuki gasped, as he knew where this was going.

"So you know what's going to happen?" Dimitri smirked, as he placed the new spellcaster onto his duel disk. "Then let me introduce you to my Black Magician Girl!"

Syrus had a lovestruck look in his eyes as Dimitri summoned the attractive female spellcaster.

Black Magician Girl **Atk-2000**

"But it doesn't end there." Dimitri held up another spell card, that made Yuki's stomach drop. "Black Burning! Now I can destroy all monsters on your field!"

Yuki winced, as Black Magician Girl shot several orbs from her staff, blasting away his entire front row, leaving him wide open.

Black Magician Girl **Atk-2300**

"Woah, what happened?" Jaden asked, wondering why the spellcaster had suddenly powered up.

"It's her effect." Yumei explained. "She gets stronger for each Black Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in either player's graveyard."

"And because of that spell card, Yuki is about to feel that extra three hundred." Bastion gulped, suddenly very glad he was not the one dueling Dimitri.

"Now my monsters, attack!" Dimitri ordered, and the two spellcasters crossed their staffs before aiming them at Yuki. And with nothing that could stop this attack, all he could do was accept that this was going to hurt, and even shielding himself with his duel disk, didn't stop from being knocked flat on his back.

 **Yuki-LP 1250**

"Ow…" Yuki groaned, as he slowly got back to his feet with the help of his twin and Neo. "Sorry about that partner…"

"I believe you were saying something about me not being the king of games?" Dimitri asked in a rather confident note. "It's rather pathetic of you saying that."

"The real Yugi would never say anything like that." Yuki sounded rather angry. Not angry as he would be if and when he would summon Mythic. No this was different. Dimitri had disrespected both Yugi Muoto _and_ Pharaoh Atem by saying what he did. And he was not about to let that stand.

' _Yuki, it's time you drew me.'_ Mahad said, appearing next to Yuki. ' _The Pharaoh always believed in the heart of the cards, and if you want to get his deck back, right now you need to believe as well. If we're going to win, you need to draw me.'_

"Alright my draw!" Yuki said, taking the card from the top of his deck. It wasn't Mahad, but he wasn't deterred, as he still had Solemn Wishes.

 **Yuki-LP 1750**

"Okay, I play my own Monster Reborn and bring Neo back to my field!" Slotting his spell card into his duel disk, caused the sword wielding spellcaster to reappear.

Neo the Magic Swordsman **Atk-1700**

"Up for this partner?" Yuki asked the card, getting his partner's attention.

Neo nodded in reassurance. ' _Just win partner.'_

"I intend to. So now I'll use my barrier's effect, and by sacrificing one of my spellcasters, I can draw up to four cards. Since four is the limit on my spell card's effect." As Neo vanished, Yuki drew four more cards. One of which had a bright gold aura about it.

 **Yuki-LP 3750**

"And now I summon Palladium Oracle Mahad!" Yuki declared, revealing the spellcaster to Dimitri, before placing the card onto his duel disk and summoning the high priest to his field.

Palladium Oracle Mahad **Atk-2500**

"But I'm not finished, I'm taking that deck you stole back. And I'm doing it with this! Diffusion Wave Motion!" When Yuki revealed the card, Dimitri paled. "By giving up 1000 life points, I can attack with one monster on my field. Oh! And due to Mahad's effect, his attack strength doubles when he attacks a dark monster!"

Palladium Oracle Mahad **Atk-5000**

Mahad raised his staff, collecting the magical energy of Yuki's spell card, before pointing it at the two other now very worried looking spellcasters.

"Attack! Infinite Magic Black Magic Burst!" At Yuki's order, Mahad let out powerful waves of magic from his staff, which obliterated both spellcasters.

 **Dimitri-LP 0000**

Yuki let out a relieved sigh, as Dimitri sank to his knees.

"Why…?" Dimitri hit the ground with his fist. "Even with Yugi's deck… why can't I ever win!?"

"The answer to that is obvious." Zane's appearance made everyone turn their heads in his direction. And he wasn't alone. Alexis, Kai, and Fujin were with him.

"You're Zane…" dimitri sounded rather shocked.

"What brings you here?" Yuki asked, taking Yuki's deck back from Dimitri.

"Why else?" Zane pointed to the cards in Yuki's hands. "To see the deck, but it was gone."

"Nothing but a broken display case." Alexis said, while Yuki handed Syrus back his duel disk.

"We figured the thief couldn't be far off, so we decided to take a look around." Fujin supplied.

"And that led us here." Kai finished. "We've been here for a while, but didn't want to say anything."

"Wait what?" Yuki suddenly felt very nervous. "You were watching the whole time?"

"Not just us." Zane jerked his thumb over his left shoulder, and it looked like the entire school was there. Standing on the cliffs above them.

"Yet another win in Yuki's book." An Obelisk female said.

"You think he tutors?" A Ra boy asked. "I'm failing in spellcasters."

"So what now?" Dimitri asked, still in his defeated tone.

"Well kid." Zane began. "The penalty for theft has always been the same. Straight up expulsion. But I think since everyone enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in action instead of a display case, I doubt anyone will turn you in."

"But I still lost…"

"Yeah you did." Yumei sighed. "But not in the way you think. You weren't dueling as yourself since you put yourself in Yugi's mindset, and because of that you lost the duel."

"She's right." Zane continued for the female Hyoudou twin. "You'll never win until you put yourself out there, and that means creating your own deck and your own strategies. Not piggybacking off of someone else's. After all, there's no amount of studying you can do to be able to use someone else's deck the way they can."

"But for now." Yuki began. "Let's put this back, before the disciplinary action squad gets here. I doubt they'd put us all in detention, but I'd rather not find out."

* * *

The next day, Yugi's deck was in a new display case for the entire school to admire. Though everyone who saw the duel, ie; every student, was keeping quiet about Yuki and Dimitri's duel. At least around a member of the faculty.

"I still can't believe I came out on top over Yugi's deck." Yuki said, massaging his ribs. He really needed to find a quicker way out of her bone cracking hugs.

"Yuki!" Syrus' cry caught his attention, as the smaller Slifer ran up to him. "It's Dimitri! He's at it again."

"Damnit…" Yuki groaned, before following his friend to where Dimitri was by the Ra dorms. The Ra had styled his hair in a rather bad imitation of Yuki's, and had somehow gotten his hands on a Obelisk jacket, custom shirt, and an imitation Millenium Ring."

"Seriously Dimitri…?" Yuki facepalmed.

"Who's Dimiri?" The Ra asked, imitating Yuki's voice. "I'm Yuki Hyou-hey wait, where are you going?"

Yuki had subsequently turned on his heel, and walked off. "Nope. I'm not dealing with this today."


	26. Chapter 26

**Hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Wanted to let you know before reading this particular chapter, that what you're about to read is not my writing. Full credit for this goes to Blackbird's_Fallen_Angel who's been helping me with the story, and has given his full permission to add this in. You can find this story on AO3 under the title: A New Hero-Jackson's Journey.**

 **I would add a link, but somehow I'm unable to.**

 **With that, I hope you all enjoy!**

North Academy. Located in the northernmost portion of Alaska just beyond the Arctic Circle, this institution has dedicated itself to training the next generation of Duelists. Prioritizing power and individual strength as a way to further their own goals, students are encouraged, even explicitly told to take every advantage they can in a duel with their peers. There is only way to advance in this school: beat everyone. If a Duelists can't, then they'll stagnate in the lower ranks and will go nowhere as a result. Just about everyone who attended North Academy appreciated the "survival of the fittest" mentality, embracing their own inner do-or-die natures. Everyone but a select few. One of these students was Jackson Corvus.

The young man stepped out of his cabin in the Snow Caps area of North Academy, the most prestigious housing area in the entire complex. As only the top 10% of the best students in North Academy could reside here, the population was already limited, though Jackson would attribute that more to the lackluster average skill level around campus. Jackson's skill put him here. His skill and his Dragons. Ask him, though, and he'll say it was the abysmal skill of everyone else at the academy save for a select few duelists who deserved better.

His black blazer and matching shirt were his customary attire, and his dark blue jeans and boots finished off the look. He looked up into the sky, shielding his crimson eyes from the harsh sun before slipping on a set of amber-tinted aviator sunglasses.

"Great. More snow. You'd think there'd be enough of the stuff around here," Jackson muttered, brushing some fresh powder from his sandy-blond hair as he headed down towards the main area of the Academy. Barely in the middle of his first year at North Academy, Jackson had already defeated everyone there was to beat in the complex, save for the eccentric headmaster of the Academy, Chancellor Foster, though only because the odd old man with an even odder hair style utterly refused to fight his students.

Jackson had celebrated his 17th birthday barely a month earlier, and celebrated the only way he knew how: cooking up a storm of recipes from his native New Orleans and enjoying each one with his three Spirit Partners at his side, Felgrand Dragon, Decoy Dragon, and Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand.

In spite of all his victories, all his triumph, there was one singular word that could epitomize Jackson: boredom. The Undefeated Dragon Champion was, in no uncertain terms, bored out of his mind. If no duelist on the frozen tundra of North Academy could offer a challenge, how was he supposed to improve or even enjoy his victories? But all that was soon to change.

"What? The School Duel?" Jackson asked the one duelist he actually enjoyed dueling. The energetic young man he was talking to nodded emphatically, his southern drawl coming through with each word he spoke.

"Yeah! Duel Academy has issued its yearly challenge, and this year they're picking first-year students! That means you and me could be headlining! I can already see it now! Jesse Anderson, School Duel Champion!"

"Uh, Jess, I think you've been using too much hair dye. If anyone is gonna be School Duel Champion, the odds of it being anyone from this sorry excuse for a school are slim to none." Jackson jabbed his thumb at the local Russian brute, currently in his favored seat. "You'd have better luck seeing Czar out of his rocking chair!"

The two young men laughed, sparking a growl from the muscular Siberian native. "I heard that!"

"You were supposed to, Granny!" Jackson fired back. Czar sat back down and grumbled, unwilling to press further, knowing that it would inevitably end with a duel against the Undefeated Dragon Champion, and another loss on his own scorecard.

Jesse grins broadly as the two approach the back half of the campus near their preferred dueling grounds. "Well, you are aware that the format has changed, right? There's still gonna be the standard one v one duel for the school's honor, but they're also gonna have a Tag Duel, followed up by the team captains going one on one. And guess who's been selected as the team to represent North Academy?"

Jackson skidded to a halt, a small puff of snowy powder kicking up at his feet. "Jess, tell me you're not gonna say what I think you're gonna say…."

Jesse turned to his friend and smiled almost apologetically. "Sorry, bud, but we've been chosen. And don't make any cracks about hair dye. You know full well I'm a natural Blue."

"Jess, you should've told me about this earlier! You know school spirit isn't exactly my thing, especially with this dump. How can I be expected to be a good representative of the so-called power around here when everyone else is barely at the level of a predueler? Present company excluded, Mister Runner-Up." Jack grins, slipping on his Academy Duel Disk and slotting his deck in place.

"Well, if you won't duel for the school, then duel for your pride as the Undefeated Dragon Champion! I mean, that's gotta be worth something, right? Or are you all talk?" Jesse grinned, seeing his minor taunt already making Jackson's eye twitch in annoyance. "Let's consider this match here to be for the top spot on our team? Winner becomes captain, loser buys at the mess hall?"

Jackson smirks and shrugs, holding up his disk as the two Duelists prepare to go to war, their Spirit Partners anxious for the battle to come. "Looks like lunch is on you then."

The two young men grin, shouting simultaneously

 **"DUEL!"**

JESSE ANDERSON - 4000 LP

JACKSON CORVUS - 4000 LP

"I'll take the first move, Jack!" Jesse declares, drawing his sixth card and smiling broadly. "Alright! I'll start with this! Come on out, Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!"

A large Mammoth appeared before Jesse, trumpeting grandly at its own entrance before staring Jackson down from across the field.

Amber Mammoth:

EARTH / LEVEL 4 / BEAST / 1700 ATK / 1600 DEF

"... What? You're not still mad at me for what happened last time, are you?" Jackson asked the spirit, prompting it to trumpet again in an affirmative. "... Okay, maybe you are… would a bag of peanuts make up for it?"

Jesse laughs softly before slipping another card into his Disk. "I'll follow up my summon with the spell card Rainbow Bridge! With this, I can search my deck for a 'Crystal' spell or trap! And I'll be going for Crystal Abundance!" Jesse grins and adds the new card to his hand before popping out the Field Zone of his disk and slotting in another card. "Up next, how about a change of scenery? Welcome to the Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins!"

Jackson was grateful for what happened next. The frozen tundra around them began to change, replaced with a Greco-Roman theater, complete with a glorious rainbow arcing across the blue sky above.

"I'll kick out a face down card, and I'll let ya off with that. You're up, Jack!"

"Going for your 'Abundant OTK' I see." Jackson thinks to himself, grinning as he pulls his sixth card and scans his hand before pulling a card from it and slotting it into his Disk. "I activate Dragon Shrine! With this, I can send one Dragon from my deck to the Graveyard, then, if that Dragon was a Normal Monster, I can send one more! For starters, I'll send the Gemini Monster Darkstorm Dragon to the grave, and since Gemini are treated as Normals in the Graveyard, I can also send Arkbrave Dragon! Next up, I'll be summoning out Dragon Knight of Creation!"

Jackson grinned as a humanoid figure clad in gold armor and sporting a blade large enough to be the fang of an ancient Dragon, the double-edged sword being easily as tall as the knight himself. The knight lept into existence before Jackson, a flowing mane of crimson hair trailing behind him.

Dragon Knight of Creation:

LIGHT / LEVEL 4 / DRAGON / 1800 ATK / 600 DEF

"Battle! This won't win me any favors here, but Dragon Knight of Creation! ATTACK AMBER MAMMOTH!"

The draconic knight nods and jumps skyward, bringing his sword down on the mammoth beast, cleaving it in two before it shatters into pixels.

JESSE - 4000 LP 3900 LP

As Jesse's LP drops, Jackson smiles and holds his hand out. "Now, since he destroyed a monster in battle and sent it to the Graveyard, Dragon Knight of Creation gets to fire off a neat little skill…"

"Sorry to cut you off there, Jack, but I'm chaining this trap to your monster's effect! Specifically the Trap Card Crystal Pair! With this, when a Crystal Beast on my field is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can take a Crystal Beast from my deck and place it in my Spell and Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell. So, I'll go with Topaz Tiger!" Jesse slots the chosen card into his back row, prompting a lustrous yellow topaz ore to appear at Jesse's right hand.

"Well, looks like now I can resolve my effect. Since Dragon Knight of Creation destroyed a monster you control and sent it to the Graveyard, I can send one level seven or eight Dragon from my Deck to my own Graveyard! Darkblaze Dragon, you're who I chose." Jackson sends the selected card to his Graveyard, then takes three cards from his hand and slots them into his Disk. "I'll set three cards, and call it a turn. You're up Jess!"

Jesse nods and draws his top card, glancing at it and grinning even wider as a result. "Alright! I activate Crystal Bond! Now I can add one Crystal Beast from my Deck to my Hand, then another Crystal Beast can go from my Deck right to my Spell and Trap Zone. I'll add up Sapphire Pegasus, and set Cobalt Eagle!" Jesse grinned with a broad self-satisfied smile as a second gemstone ore materialized in front of him, just before a horned Pegasus soared down from the sky, braying proudly as it stomped the ground before it. "I'm sure you two have already met, but say hello to Sapphire Pegasus!"

Sapphire Pegasus:

WIND / LEVEL 4 / BEAST / 1800 ATK / 1200 DEF

Jackson grins and waves to the mythical beast, the two previously acquainted. The Pegasus bows its head regally, remembering his adversary from previous encounters.

"Since you two already met, I don't think I need to explain his special ability. But just in case you forgot, here's how it goes! When Sapphire Pegasus is Summoned, I can take a Crystal Beast from my Hand, Deck, or Graveyard, and place it in my Spell and Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell! Amber Mammoth, welcome back!" Jesse hollers, slotting the card into his Disk and materializing a caramel-colored Amber ore in his back row. Jesse's grin grows wider as he pulls another Spell Card from his hand. "Up next, don't space out on me, because I'm activating Dark Hole!"

Jackson winced as a singularity spawned in the middle of the field, drawing both Dragon Knight of Creation and Sapphire Pegasus into its depths, only for Sapphire Pegasus to bray loudly and vanish in a beam of light, sending itself to Jesse's Spell and Trap Zone, materializing in the form of a brilliant blue Sapphire ore. Jackson smirked, seeing Jesse's plan laid out before him.

'So that's it, huh? Sapphire Pegasus saved himself by jumping into his back row. Now there's four Crystal Beast ores. Pretty clever, Jess.' Jackson thought to himself as the singularity faded, leaving Jesse smiling broadly. "But not clever enough!" Jackson roared, smiling as he triggered one of his facedown cards. "In response to Sapphire Pegasus' ability resolving, I activate Oasis of Dragon Souls!"

Jesse's eyes widened, his plan about to crumble before him.

"With Oasis, I can resurrect a monster from my Graveyard in defense mode. ROAR AND TAKE FLIGHT, ARKBRAVE DRAGON!"

Jesse blinked and covered his eyes, letting out a gasp as a burst of light shown behind Jackson. From the brilliant light flew a gold-and-white scaled dragon, roaring its presence and spreading its four wings wide in a show of power.

Arkbrave Dragon:

LIGHT / LEVEL 7 / DRAGON / 2400 ATK / 2000 DEF

As Arkbrave Dragon hovered behind his duelist he started thrashing his wings harder, kicking up a windstorm in the process.

"Arkbrave Dragon's Special Ability! When he's Special Summoned from the Graveyard, he banishes all face-up Spells and Traps you control, and he gains 200 ATK for each one!"

Jesse paled, deflating at the reality before him. "You mean…"

"Yeah, that means your Crystal Beast collection and Rainbow Ruins aren't going to be around much longer." True to Jackson's word, the four Crystal Beast ores and Rainbow Ruins were soon blown away by the windstorm, and Arkbrave Dragon roared mightily at his newfound power.

Arkbrave Dragon:

2400 ATK 3400 ATK

The two young men shivered, suddenly remembering where they were now that the stone amphitheatre and sunny sky had faded away, replaced with North Academy's permafrost and Sub-Zero temperatures. After seeing his entire combo come crashing down, as well as most of his favorite cards, Jesse didn't seem deterred in the slightest. If anything, he seemed even more hyped up.

"Nice little trick there, Jack. But come next turn, you'll be the one on the ropes. I set a card, and end my turn." The second Jackson's turn began, Jesse's facedown card went face-up. "I activate Crystal Cut! By sending a Crystal Beast from my Deck to my Graveyard, I can cut one of your Monster's ATK in half. This'll spare me until next turn, and when that comes, I'll-"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Jess, but there is no next turn. It ends here. I activate my face-down card! Return of the Dragon Lords!" Jackson's second set card went upright, the Spell Card shining a brilliant blue before turning red and erupting in flames, a column of crimson fire soaring into the sky and materializing into another Dragon, this one nearly identical to Arkbrave Dragon, with the only difference between the two being the black and red scales on the newer dragon.

Darkblaze Dragon:

FIRE / LEVEL 7 / DRAGON / 1200 ATK / 1000 DEF

"You probably already know, but Return allows me to Special Summon a level 7 or 8 Dragon from the Graveyard. You may remember Darkblaze Dragon from the last time Czar challenged me, the look on his face when I summoned a level 7 monster with 1200 ATK? Remember how surprised he was when… this happened?" Jackson snapped his fingers and Darkblaze Dragon roared powerfully, his body beginning to glow with an iridescent flaming red Aura. "When Darkblaze is Summoned from the Graveyard, his ATK and DEF double."

Darkblaze Dragon:

1200 ATK 2400 ATK / 1000 DEF 2000 DEF

"So, like I said, Jess, it's game over. Battle! Arkbrave Dragon and Darkblaze Dragon! Direct Attack!"

The twin dragons roared in unison, unleashing a crimson blaze from their maws that swirled and combined into one single stream of flame, engulfing Jesse in an instant.

Jesse Anderson - 3900 LP 0 LP

A few minutes later, Jackson had helped his friend up off the snowy ground

"I can't believe you had me scouted that far ahead." Jesse groaned, his hands behind his head as he walked towards the mess hall, prepared to make good on the previous bet. "What, from turn one you knew?"

"Pretty much." Jackson grinned and chuckled. "I mean, you did search it out turn one with Rainbow Bridge. The rest was just waiting for you to commit to it."

Jesse stopped dead in his tracks, staring at Jackson with mouth agape. "You… you baited me. Those three back row cards…" Jesse grinned and punched Jackson's shoulder. "YOU BAITED ME!"

"Hehe, well, I knew you needed at least three of my cards to be destroyed for your combo to work," Jackson replied, rubbing his arm where his friend slugged him. "So I kinda… gave you the three you wanted. Slight advice for next time, though, aim more for monsters than back row to destroy with Abundance. You never know who could have a trap waiting." Jackson smiled, patting Jesse on the back as they headed into the mess hall.

After a lavish meal, begrudgingly paid for by Jesse, Jackson and his friend parted ways for the day. As the two head to their respective cabins in the Snow Caps, Jackson made a detour past the housing area, making his way off campus toward a small wooded area. He pulled out the small scraps of rare beef he'd saved from lunch, unwrapping them from the Loosely wrapped napkin that contained them.

"Hope y'all are hungry. I've got a special treat for you today…" Jackson spoke softly as he approached a snowy hill that had what appeared to be a hole dug into the side. At the sound of his voice, a small white fox tentatively poked its head out of the hole, soon joined by a couple more young cubs. Jackson smiled, setting the pieces of meat by the opening to the den and took a few steps away, sitting on a nearby rock as the cubs came out and ate the offered snack. The kits were soon joined by a larger fox, clearly female, her snow-white fur smooth and elegant, her motions deliberate. She looked at Jackson with her eyes as blue as pure ice and appeared to nod a thank-you to him, a gesture he returned as she joined her cubs in eating the meal he had brought them.

This small family of foxes had been in Jackson's care for the last two months ever since he saw the skinned body of a male fox less than 20 feet from the den, apparently the father of the family, clearly the victim of poachers. Since then, he'd been doing what he could to earn the trust of the mother, and bringing them food whenever he could. Only Jesse and he knew about this particular family of foxes, and Jackson hoped to keep it that way until the kits could fend for themselves a bit better. As is, the kits couldn't be more than four months old, so that time was soon approaching.

Jackson spent a few minutes with the cubs, watching them play wrestle before heading back into their den with mother in tow before deciding to head back to his cabin. If there was one thing he enjoyed about North Academy, it was its proximity to local wildlife. Little did he know that someone not too far away was watching this same fox family, but for completely different reasons…

* * *

The next day, Jackson made preparations to visit the fox den, including packing several different snacks for himself and for the cubs, ranging from fresh fish to some tundra berries he'd picked up at a local farmer's market in the nearby town of Barrow. As he was just about to leave, there was a kind of panicked animal scratching on his cabin door, which stopped suddenly, and was replaced by a knock. Jackson shrugged on his jacket and answered, seeing Jesse Anderson holding one of the pups.

"Hey Jack! Ain't this one of those fox pups you were looking after? Why's he clawin' at your door?" Jesse asked, cradling the little furball in his arm. The pup looked distressed, and a closer inspection revealed why. Its paws had a small amount of blood on them.

"Jess, take the pup to Dr. Hesher, then meet me at the fox den. Something isn't right." Jackson rushed off as Jesse took the kit to the local vet. Jackson made his way as fast as he could towards the den, seeing the cub's pawprints in blood as he got closer. Following that trail, Jackson found the source of the blood, a beartrap partially buried in the snow. It seemed to be designed for a much smaller target than a bear, and its proximity to the fox den Jackson was watching over meant only one thing to him.

"Poachers." Jackson spat out the word like it was an insult. A quick scan of the surrounding area proved him right. A set of bootprints in the snow led away from the trap, and slight droplets of blood followed the tracks. He knew that if he followed that trail, he'd find the poachers.

"Hurry up and get those things loaded. We don't have too much more time here before someone sees us!" A brusk southwestern voice spoke. "Those beasts need to be prepped if the pelts are going to fetch a good price."

"Yes boss!" Another man said, loading a crate into a truck, said crate housing a female Arctic Fox with a badly wounded leg.

The first voice belonged to Giese Hunt, also known as Trapper. He considered himself to be a hunter of the highest caliber, but according to everyone else who met him he was a scoundrel and a ruthless poacher. His dark brown hair was slicked back into spikes, accompanied by blond highlights near his temples. A full goatee completed whatever look he was going for.

The second voice belonged to Geise's lackey Terry Grunt. Of the two, Terry was the only one who dressed for the weather. Where Geise was wearing a dark green full-body jumpsuit and long johns, Terry wore a white parka and snow boots.

Jackson observed the two from a nearby snowbank, just out of sight of the two but not out of earshot. The second he saw the wounded fox being loaded into the truck, he knew he had to act.

 _'Don't do anything rash, partner.'_ A gentle female voice sounded in Jackson's head, a voice he was very familiar with. _'These men may be dangerous. Be careful.'_

"Don't worry, Fel," Jackson told the Spirit of Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. "I know exactly what I'm doing. Clearly these goons don't, or they would have stayed away from us."

Jackson slowly made his way towards the truck, staying low to the ground to avoid being seen until he hid by the driver's side door. Staying low and using the bed of the pickup for cover, he made his way towards Terry, the goon completely oblivious to his presence, right until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Terry turned with a "huh", only to be met with a stiff elbow to the jaw. Jackson grabbed the stunned man in a headlock and pitched his shoulders downward, slamming the goon's head crown-first into the truck's tailgate. Skull met steel with a satisfying thud, sending the goon into unconsciousness.

Jackson left the goon where he was, letting him slump onto the snow before he turned his attention to the mastermind of the affair. Jackson was just about ready to kick the bastitch's head in, until he saw a belt-mounted deck box attached to the man's hip. Suddenly he had a better idea, one his Spirit Partners agreed with wholeheartedly. Apparently they wanted a piece of this poacher as well, and Jackson wasn't willing to deny them. He smirked, knowing the perfect lure to bring the big boss over as he eyed a nearby stack of empty cages.

Trapper groaned softly, lamenting his lackey's lack of speed in loading his new merchandise in potentia. The sudden sound of crates clanging around as they were knocked over made him flinch slightly, then sigh and roll his eyes. "You just can't buy good help these days," Trapper grumbled as he stomped over toward his truck. "Terry you idiot, tell me you didn't-"

"Sorry, Terry's kinda napping right now. Might even have a minor concussion…"

Trapper whirled around and searched for the voice that had cut him off, seeing a young man seated atop the cab of his truck with a cocky grin.

"Who the fuck are you and…" Trapper stopped himself short when he saw what was in the kid's right hand. He then noticed that his driver's side window was broken in. "You brat. Is that my apple?"

Jackson grinned and took another bite of the apple in question. "Dunno. Is this piece of crap rust-bucket your truck?" Jackson asked, hitting the side of said truck with the heel of his foot as they dangled over the edge of the cab's roof.

"Yes you stupid kid, now get off!"

"Huh, since this truck's yours, guess that means all these wild animals in cages are yours, too, huh?" Jackson nodded at the array of scared-looking animals in the crates, one of which being the wounded Arctic Fox he was taking care of. "You are aware poaching's illegal, right?"

Trapper glared at the kid and scoffed. "So's breaking and entering, but you don't seem to have a problem with that."

"Nope. I do it just fine," Jackson tossed away the half-eaten apple as he leapt down from the roof of the truck, smirking at the annoyed twitch in Trapper's right eye. "What I do have a problem with is people taking what isn't theirs, especially if what they're taking is the life of an innocent." Jackson turned to face Trapper, watching as the man held his hand over his whip.

"So what are you gonna do about it, Mr. Hero?"

"Simple. Duel me."

"Huh?"

"What, are you as deaf as you are ugly? I saw the deck box on your belt, and I know there's a duel disk in your glove compartment, so duel me. I win, you let the animals go and don't come back. Do, and I'll beat the crap out of you and leave you as a snack for the local coyotes or a random Canadian Lynx. You win, I pretend I never saw you and be on my merry way with nothing more to show for it than a half-eaten Sekai Ichi apple."

Trapper paused at the kid's gaul. Not even slightly expecting this turn of events. "And what makes you think I won't just snap your neck with my whip? Wake up my useless partner, take our spoils, and leave you as a snack for some other beastie that I'll probably catch later on?"

"Simple. Because if that were what you'd do, you'd have done it already. The duelist in you is actually contemplating it, giving you pause, wondering if you really are good enough to take down the best that North Academy has to offer. So, whaddya say, old man? Think you can beat a wise-ass kid? Or do you just wanna crack your overcompensation whip and just kill me now?"

Trapper responded by pushing past Jackson and popping open his passenger side door to pull his duel disk out. "Just for that, I'm gonna curb stomp you before I kill you."

Several minutes later, Jackson and Trapper had moved away from the truck and had enough space for a duel amid the frozen tundra. As the combatants slotted their Decks into their respective Disks, Trapper looked quizzically at his opponent. "Say, kid, why are you doing this, anyway? Why not just run to the cops and spill your guts like a normal brat?"

"First off, call me brat again and you'll be eating a mouthful of permafrost after I shove my boot up your ass. And as for why, well, I'm giving you something that you wouldn't give any of the animals you captured. I'm giving you a fighting chance."

Trapper cocked an eyebrow as he powered on his Disk. "You're one weird kid, you know that?"

Jackson scoffed as he activated his own Disk. "Coming from a guy who's dressed like a bad Steve Irwin cosplay, that doesn't mean very much. Also, it's still too soon, dude. Now enough bullshitting. Let's get this over with."

" **DUEL**!"

GEISE "TRAPPER" HUNT - 4000 LP

JACKSON CORVUS - 4000 LP

"First move's mine, kid! Draw!" Trapper shouted, pulling his sixth card from his deck. "I summon Giant Rat in Defense mode!"

A large bipedal rodent appeared on Trapper's field, crouching with its arms crossed over it's chest. In the rat's left hand was clutched a human skull.

GIANT RAT:

EARTH / LEVEL 4 / BEAST / 1400 ATK / 1450 DEF

"Up next, I'll toss out a face-down card, and end my turn."

"Huh, the rat kinda looks like you. Just prettier. My move!" Jackson taunts before drawing a card and checking his hand.

"Giant Rat…. Well that doesn't give me much about what he's playing. Easily one of the most splashable Death-Searcher/Summoners in Duel Monsters," Jackson thought to himself as he eyed a Monster in his hand. "Either way, that fat ugly vermin has to go. And Giant Rat, too."

"I summon Paladin of Felgrand," Jackson roared. Before him lept a regal-looking knight clad in light blue metallic armor and brandishing a matching sword. His golden hair and eyes seemed fixated and determined, and his white cape only added to his air of knightly power.

Paladin of Felgrand:

LIGHT / LEVEL 4 / WARRIOR / 1700 ATK / 300 DEF

"Now Paladin's special ability kicks off! When he's called to arms, he can call upon the spirit of a level 7 or 8 Dragon from my Deck to aide him! Felgrand Dragon, how about you give our friend a morale boost?" Jackson grinned as he slotted his chosen Dragon into his Spell and Trap zone, resulting in the spectral image of Felgrand Dragon wrapped its wings around its paladin, turning the knight's cape a shimmering gold color. "And this morale boost isn't just cosmetic. Now, my Paladin is immune to your monsters' effects! Battle! Paladin, cleave that rat in two!"

At Jackson's order, the knight jumped into the air, letting out a small roar as he brought his blade down and split the over-sized rodent in half, then back-flipped back into his position on Jackson's field as the rat exploded in a shower of pixels.

In spite of all of this, Trapper apparently couldn't stop smiling. "What do they teach you in that Academy, kid? You just fell for the most basic trick a poacher knows: Bait. See, when Giant Rat is destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon an EARTH monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck. So, out with ya, Moja!"

Where Giant Rat had been, a small, black, bean-shaped figure appeared, sporting what appeared to be inverted horns and a large yellow face with big beady black-red eyes.

Moja:

EARTH / LEVEL 1 / BEAST / 100 ATK / 100 DEF

"Oh crap." Jackson muttered. He'd seen that monster before, and knew exactly what was coming. "I'll set one card face-down, and end my turn." Jackson said, slotting in a card for his back row. "Awe crap. He's playing THAT strategy. With what I have now, I can't beat that monster. But at least Castle of Dragons Souls can boost a monster by 700 ATK, but I need to Banish a Dragon in my grave first. Let's hope it won't come to that."

"My move, kid!" Trapper smiled and laughed. "I take it you're familiar with Moja? Judging from your reaction, I'd say so. In that case, you probably knew that this was coming! I tribute Moja to activate the effect of a Monster in my Hand!"

Jackson winced, covering his ears as Moja let out a blood curdling scream. Slowly, the small pill-like beast's mouth spread wider and wider before a large, black, demonically possessed evolved form of the little Moja took its place. The new monster stood at least ten feet off the permafrost, with skeletal legs protruding out from the base of its undulating black form.

King of the Beasts:

EARTH / LEVEL 7 / 2500 ATK / 800 DEF

"This big lovely is the King of the Beasts. When Moja is on my field and I've got him in my Hand or Graveyard, I can ditch Moja and bring him out. Now, Battle Phase! King of the Beasts, slaughter that Knight! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!"

The demonic beast roared and reared its head back, a small black ball appearing at its teeth before it lurched forward and fired a dark beam that engulfed the warrior and melted him away. Jackson covered his eyes, watching as Felgrand Dragon and Paladin of Felgrand were destroyed.

Jackson - 4000 LP 3200 LP

Trapper grins and pulls another card from his hand. "I'll set a card, and end my turn. You sure you're the best North Academy has to offer?"

"Believe me, I wish that wasn't the case. Most of them are as bad at the game as you are, but only half are as ugly. My move!" Jackson winces slightly, not liking what he sees very much. 'It's nothing I can't work with. I've been in tighter spots before…' Jackson thought, pulling a monster from his hand and placed it on his Duel Disk. "I summon Golem Dragon in Defense Mode!"

A brown-scaled dragon with large forearms appeared before him, covering its lower face with its stone-like arms and almost daring Trapper to do something.

Golem Dragon:

EARTH / LEVEL 4 / DRAGON / 200 ATK / 2000 DEF

"Next, I'll be equipping him with Dragon Shield!" Jackson's equip spell metamorphosed his dragon's back, turning it into a hardened, spiked armor tinted black. "Now, my dragon can't be destroyed by battle or card effects! To round things out, I'll set a face-down of my own. Your move!"

Trapper grinned darkly, looking at the card he just drew and knowing it spelled the end for the brat he faced. Before he could make a single move, Jesse sprinted towards the two, having followed Jackson's footsteps.

"JACK! There y'are! I told Headmaster Foster about the traps near the fox den. He said the cops should be here soon! Who's tall, dark n' creepy?"

Jackson opened his mouth to answer, only for Trapper to turn tail and run. Jackson, however, would have none of that, giving chase immediately while shouting over his shoulder at Jesse to guard the animals in Trapper's truck. Neither men made it too far, though, both failing to notice the sign they passed read 'DANGER THIN ICE'. They slowed down considerably, hearing the ice around them begin to crack under their weight.

"Where do you think you're going? You're gonna wait right here for the cops!" Jackson hollered, before shaking his head in disbelief as Trapper turned toward him, Duel Disk at the ready.

"Not a chance! I beat you, I get away Scott free. So we're finishing this! I set one card face-down, and Summon Beast Striker!" He yelled as he slapped the card onto his disk. Seconds later, the Solid Vision projections of their cards and fields reappeared, including a new humanoid beast wearing belted blue jeans and welding a large hammer about twice as big as the beast itself.

Beast Striker:

EARTH / LEVEL 4 / BEAST / 1850 ATK / 400 DEF

"Are you serious? Look around you! We're on thin ice, literally!" Jackson gawked, seriously considering if Trapper had a death wish.

"Yes, kid, I am serious. I beat you, the ice breaks, and the cops waste their time rescuing you while I get away. So I'll end it all this turn. I activate Super Rush Recklessly!" Trapper said, triggering one of his set cards. "By destroying a Beast on my field, I can shuffle a monster on yours into your deck, so say goodbye to Beast Striker," he said as his monster exploded into pixels, "and say goodbye to your Golem Dragon!" With Trapper's word, Golem Dragon turned into a beam of light and flew into Jackson's deck, destroying his equip card and leaving him all but defenseless.

"My next card will end this. I activate Horn of the Phantom Beasts, and equip it to my King of the Beasts!" Trapper triggered his second face-down, a Trap Card that equipped itself to King of the Beasts and materialized as two red-orange grotesque deer antlers atop King of the Beasts' head. "This card boosts King's attack power by 800. More than enough to kill you." Trapper gloated with the confidence of a criminal about to escape justice.

King of the Beasts:

2500 ATK 3300 ATK

"BATTLE PHASE! KING OF THE BEASTS, SEND THAT SNOT-NOSED PUNK TO HELL! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!" Trapper roared in concert with his Beast, laughing as his monster unleashed another torrent of black energy at his foe. When the smoke and snow dust faded, trapper growled as he saw Jackson was still standing.

Jackson Corvus - 3200 LP 700 LP

"That attack should have killed you. What happened."

"Easy. Twin Twisters." Jackson pointed to his upright Quick-Play Spell Card. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can target and destroy up to two Spell and Trap Cards on your field, so I chose Horn of the Phantom Beasts and the other face-down card." Jackson grinned, sending Arkbrave Dragon to the Graveyard to pay the cost of the Spell.

"Wise-ass. One way or another, you're dead." Trapper set another face-down and ended his turn. 'Especially after this,' trapper thought. 'No matter what you Summon, what line of defense you have, I'll still kill you. And with your own cards, no less.'

Jackson looked at his deck for a second before drawing, knowing that at this moment, with his field bare of useful cards, and only having Trade-In left in his hand, he needed to pull a true Destiny Draw. He closed his eyes and placed two fingers at the top of the deck, then smirked as he heard a familiar female voice in his head.

 _'Draw me, Jack. Draw me and let's end this!'_

Jackson's smile broadened and he nodded. "Yes, Fel. Let's. MY TURN! DRAW!" Jackson smiled even more broadly, seeing his ace in his fingertips. He had everything he needed now.

"During the Standby Phase after the turn in which Arkbrave Dragon is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Level seven or eight Dragon from my Graveyard!" Jackson extracted the card and held it to his forehead before placing the card on his Disk. "ROAR AND TAKE FLIGHT! MY FELGRAND DRAGON!"

A golden-scaled dragon roared to life, bursting from the thin ice as his powerful voice raged loudly.

Felgrand Dragon:

LIGHT / LEVEL 8 / DRAGON / 2800 ATK / 2800 DEF

Trapper smiled and began laughing as he slapped his Duel Disk. "I WAS WAITING FOR THAT! YOU'VE TRIGGERED MY TRAP! FORCEFUL DEAL!"

Trapper flipped up his final set card. "With this, if I ditch half my remaining LP and nuke my monsters, I CAN STEAL ALL OF YOURS!"

A massive explosion engulfed Trapper's field, the smoke of it bleeding across to Jackson's side. When it cleared, Felgrand Dragon had taken up position behind Trapper. The gilded Dragon snarled and growled, almost as if the spirit himself was angered at this turn of events.

Trapper - 4000 LP 2000 LP

This was it. Trapper's perfect combo. He would back his opponent into a corner and force them to summon their best monster to combat him, which he'd then steal and use against them. His nickname was "Trapper" for a reason, after all. In spite of his impending success, Trapper felt something was off. Something didn't feel right. He finally figured it out when he saw the look in Jackson's eyes. Nothing but pure murderous intent lay within them. Jackson's blood was boiling hot enough it could melt the permafrost around him.

"At first, this was all business. Bitch, YOU JUST MADE IT PERSONAL! I ACTIVATE TRADE-IN!" Jackson roared, slotting in his card. "By discarding one Level eight monster, I can draw two cards from my deck!" His two new cards showed him something else; his Dragons were as angry as he was. The first card was Dragon's Rage, and the second…

"I ACTIVATE RETURN OF THE DRAGON LORDS!" Jackson held the card high as a large statue depicting what appeared to be a more elegant and almost divine embodiment of Felgrand Dragon appeared behind him. Paladin of Felgrand then appeared and knelt before the statue, as if praying at the altar of a beloved deity.

"With Return of the Dragon Lords, I can Special Summon one Level seven or eight Dragon from my Graveyard. A being of pure ethereal beauty and power." Jackson spoke slowly as he removed the card from the Graveyard, closing his eyes as he set her on his Disk.

"LET THE LIGHT OF THE HEAVENS SHINE DOWN ON THOSE WHO SEEK YOUR MERCY! THE RAYS OF JUDGEMENT SMITE THOSE WHO OPPOSE YOUR LAW! ROAR…. ROAR AND TAKE FLIGHT! DIVINE DRAGON LORD FELGRAND!" At her partner's call, a brilliantly golden-scaled dragon shimmered into life as it burst through the clouds above as if flying down from Heaven itself. Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand was a beauty to behold, appearing like a more elegant and powerful form of her counterpart and coincidentally younger brother, Felgrand Dragon.

Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand:

LIGHT / LEVEL 8 / DRAGON / 2800 ATK / 2800 DEF

"NOW, LORD FELGRAND'S ABILITY ACTIVATES! When she's Special Summoned from the Graveyard, she can banish one monster you control, and she gains 100 Attack Points times the level of the monster she banishes. FELGRAND DRAGON! TIME TO COME HOME! DIVINE LAW!"

Felgrand Dragon nodded and spread his wings, roaring in concert with his sister as he slowly turned into scattering light that was absorbed into the body of Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand.

Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand:

2800 ATK 3600 ATK

"Now this game is truly at its end. BATTLE! FEL, END THIS! DIVINE FELGRAND GIGATON CANNON!" Jackson roared as his partner roared with him, letting loose a golden stream of pure energy at Trapper and obliterating what was left of his lifepoints, knocking the poacher back from the force of the blast.

Trapper - 2000 LP 0 LP

Trapper stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the ice as Jackson returned his cards to his Deck Box. "You made a few mistakes there, but I'll just tell you the most egregious. First, you practically shouted that your face-down was a game-ender. True, I was expecting something like that, but not that specifically. Second? You pissed me off. And if there's one thing you don't want to do, it's piss of a Dragon that's protecting something."

"Screw you, you damned brat. I'll see you in Hell!" Trapper fired back and pulled his whip, smashing the handle into the ice, causing it to break and fracture. Before he could raise his hand to break through the thin sheet, Jackson swung his foot up in an arc, bringing it down hard a bare inch in front of where Trapper was kneeling with a thundering axe kick, shattering the ice and causing Trapper to fall through into the Arctic waters.

"Hope a nice swim will cool off that hot head of yours." Jackson murmured as he walked away, letting the poacher fish himself out.

Back at the truck, Jesse had finished releasing all of the caged animals, watching them bound away happily, all except for the fox that Jackson was caring for. She was seen by a medical professional, and now had a bandage on her leg where the trap had snagged her, but she refused to leave the truck until Jackson came back. Jesse was seated on the tailgate of the truck, the fox lying next to him, and a small contingent of police and game wardens a couple feet away, who had already taken Terry Grunt into custody.

The fox suddenly perked up and stood, looking into the middle distance. She knew someone was coming. Jesse grinned and waved the person over.

Jackson made his way up the snowbank and to the nearest law enforcement officer, pointing over his shoulder in the direction he'd come. "About 250 meters that way. Might wanna hurry, I'd guess he's about two and a half minutes from being a Popsicle."

The police officers nodded and headed off in the identified direction as Jackson held his arms out to the fox, who summarily jumped into them and crawled up to his shoulder, wrapping herself around his neck like a scarf.

"Huh… that's new. Looks like I've got a friend." Jackson chuckled softly as he and Jesse made their way back to the fox's small den. At her stop, she crawled down Jackson's arm, licked his hand softly, and headed inside. "Let's get back to the Academy. I'm kinda anxious to see something, anything, NOT covered in ice and snow."

As the two friends returned to the academy, they saw a familiar sight, Czar laying on his back after being defeated in a duel. What they didn't recognize, or rather who, was a black-haired young man in a royal blue blazer, currently being congratulated by North Academy's Headmaster.

"Chazz, you've earned the right to be called the best at North Academy." Foster smiled at his newest student. "Welcome to your new home."

 _'Juuust perfect,'_ Jackson thought. _'Another upstart with an overblown ego fed by Foster's lies. Guess he'll be coming after me pretty soon...'_


	27. Chapter 27

Yuki groaned and rubbed his temples. "For the last time guys, I am _not_ a shounen protagonist!"

Yuki and his core group of friends were having lunch on the outdoor terrace of the Obelisk dorm's cafe. Kai and Yumei had begun teasing him about him being a typical shounen protagonist, and everyone else had jumped on the bandwagon much to his complete embarrassment.

"Really?" Yumei asked, still using her teasing tone. "You're right around the same age as most, you have insane amounts of luck-"

"And despite your rivals having abilities that in theory, should be better." Kai cut across. "You always come out on top."

"And you've got the attention of the academy's prettiest girl." Fujin added, which made both Yuki's and Alexis' faces go bright red.

"But if I was…" Yuki was clearly fighting a losing battle here. "Wouldn't I be horrifically ignorant of the fact that she likes me? Or be hung up on someone else for the majority of the series who has no interest with me?"

"Always exceptions to the rules." Sora had a smirk on her face when Yuki let out a dismayed groan.

"I can't believe it… I'm a shounen protagonist…" He groaned yet again.

"Oh, don't forget you have a magical mcguffin hanging around your neck." Kai added with a smug look on his face. "And you have a hidden … for lack of a better term: dark side you're afraid to let out."

Letting out another groan, Yuki slumped his head in defeat. With his forehead lightly making contact with the table. "Damnit…"

Yumei gently ruffled her twin's hair. "Alright, I think we've broken the fourth wall enough today." She then looked off as if she was staring into a camera, and waved. "Hey colt Cabanna, how're you doing?"

"Wait!" Yuki held a finger in the air. He sat back up in his seat, which caused his twin to fix him with a curious look. "Since we're breaking the fourth wall here. Shouldn't there be someone who should be a part of the group, that doesn't get enough screen time?"

"He's got a point." Kai chimed in. "They're seen as a sort of fan favorite, who had some decent development, but just fades into the background in the later arcs, and isn't seen again until the end of the series."

"And that's usually in a very small cameo." Fujin supplied.

"So who's our background character?" Alexis asked.

"Uh… excuse me…?" A Ra student had approached them. His dark hair was so long that it fell in front of his eyes. Miko sounded rather nervous being in the Blue dorm, especially due to the odd looks he was receiving from the elitist snobs of the dorm.

"Oh hey Miko." Yumei smiled, as everyone else exchanged odd looks, at the suddenness of the appearance of the Ra. "What can we do for you?"

"Was that supposed to happen?" Fujin whispered to Kai. "Or did the writer just decide to add that in?"

Miko looked around rather nervously. "W-well.. I'm up for a promotion duel. And it's scheduled for tomorrow… but…"

"You're nervous." Yumei finished, to which Miko nodded in response.

"Incredibly nervous…" The Ra sighed. "So… could I duel one of you? I think I can work through my nerves if I do…"

Kai set down his chopsticks, having just finished his shrimp nigiri platter. Getting to his feet, the Obelisk clapped the rather shy Ra on the shoulder. "Come on, let's duel. Nothing better to work off the pre-promotion match jitters than a good duel."

* * *

Kai had led the insect using Ra outside, while the others watched from the terrace above them. "I remember my promotion match to Obelisk. I was so nervous, I couldn't get any sleep the night before."

Miko perked up, fixing Kai with a curious look. "So… you were a Ra?"

"Yup." There was a smile on his face, as Kai slipped his duel disk onto his left arm. "Didn't go to duel prep school, and I wasn't a trust fund baby. I actually earned my blue jacket. Now, I've seen you duel, so don't hold back."

"Let's Duel!"

 **Kai-LP 4000**

 **Miko-LP 4000**

"All do respect, but I would like to draw first." Miko stated while he took his sixth card from the top of his deck. He assessed his hand, before selecting two cards and slotting them into his duel disk, and placing a third onto the field in face down defense position. "Alright, I'll call it a turn there."

Miko's move made Kai frown. Not in disappointment, but in thought. ' _Okay, I know that he likes to use insects so I need to be careful.'_ Kai selected two cards, slotting one into the spell slot into his duel disk. "And I'll match you by setting a monster in face down defense position."

"This is weird…" Yuki had his arms crossed as he watched the duel. "Kai likes to duel like me since we both duel with dragons. Why is he playing so passive?"

"Insects, that's why." Alexis had stepped up beside him, after the end of Kai's first turn. "They might be an easy to master archetype, but they have some nasty surprises. Remember when he asked us for help on the first day of class?"

* * *

" _Needle Worm will make your opponent mil the top five cards of their deck, and Man-Eater Bug will destroy any monster on your opponent's field."_

* * *

"Oh crap…" Yuki's eyes went wide right when Miko's turn began.

The long haired Ra had a smile on his face, when he drew his next card. "Alright, I'll start by flip-summoning this! My Needle Worm!" He took the card off his duel disk, revealing the pink colored caterpillar.

Needle Worm **Def-500**

"And I'm sure you know about his effect. When I flip-summon this monster, you have to discard the top five cards of your deck." Miko's declaration made Kai frown, as there was no way that he could have avoided that monster's effect. Even worse for him, was the fact that one of his strongest monsters was one of the five cards he had to discard.

"Color me impressed. Only two turns in, and you don't seem as nervous as you were when we started."

Miko smiled, before selecting another card. "Well if you like that, you'll love this. I summon my Armored Hornet to the field in attack mode!"

"Oh, that's not good." Alexis sounded worried, when Miko summoned the angry large hornet. "With that monster on the field, the attack of Kai's monsters gets cut in half when it attacks."

Armored Hornet **Atk-1800**

"Armored Hornet attack! Stinger Strike!" The armored insect flew towards Kai's face down monster, and impaled it with its stinger, melting away what looked to be a white stone of sorts. However, instead of frowning Kai was smiling.

"You know, i'm happy you did that. Because, you destroyed a monster card called White Stone of the Ancients. Allow me to explain. That card has a special effect, that on the turnits destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a Blue Eyes from my graveyard. And thanks to you flipping up Needle Worm, I've got everything I need!"

Miko gulped rather nervously, as he assessed what was left in his hand. It was still his turn, and directly after his turn ended, he would be facing down one of the most powerful dragon monsters in the game. His hand shook rather nervously, as he took one of the remaining cards he had. "Alright, then I'll play a card… that I admittedly should have played last turn… and that's Insect Barrier. Now your insect monsters can't attack me."

"Uh…" Kai fixed the Ra with a rather curious look. "Don't know if you've noticed, but I run dragons, not insects."

Miko's response was to flip up one of his face down cards. DNA Surgery. "Well, according to my trap card, all monsters summoned from now on, are insect types!"

"There we go." Yumei said, watching the duel from her seat while snacking on a large bucket of popcorn. "Not even a Blue Eyes is going to get past that strategy."

"Okay, while you have a point." Yuki began, fixing his attention onto his sister. "What I want to know is, where did you get that?"

Yumei pointed over to Dorothy, who was offering popcorn to the crowd of gathered Obelisk students. "Popcorn! Soft drinks!"

"Okay… well… that was unexpected." Kai blinked, as Miko's turn came to an end. His graveyard glowed with a bright white light, and the blue scaled dragon rose onto the Obelisk onto Kai's field with a mighty roar.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But don't forget, because of DNA surgery, your dragon is now an insect monster now." Miko said, and Kai's Blue Eyes suddenly sprouted insect-like appendages.

"I think Kaiba would cry if he could see this…" A shudder went down Kai's back upon seeing his favored monster in such a state. He shook his head, before drawing his next card. "That'll work, so I'll set a card face down, and summon another monster face down." Kai set both cards, before calling it a turn there.

Miko then drew his next card, but couldn't get very far before Kai flipped up his trap card.

"Hold that thought Miko, I'm not done just yet." A large gust of wind made Miko shield his face with both arms. And when he lowered his arms, his DNA Surgery was gone.

Miko blinked in shock when he checked his graveyard. "What just happened?"

"My trap card happened." Kai held up the trap card he had set at the end of his turn. "Dust Tornado! It lets me destroy one card in your back row, and let's me set a spell or trap card as a result. But since I don't have another spell or trap card to set, you can continue your turn."

' _So much for that.'_ Miko thought, watching the insect appendages fall off of Kai's dragon. ' _Still, I can still destroy his Blue Eyes with my monster.'_ "Alright then, I'll just attack your Blue Eyes with Armored Hornet!"

The large insect buzzed angrily, and flew forward with its stinger out. "And thanks to its effect, your dragon's attack get's cut in half!"

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-1500**

Armored Hornet then stung Blue Eyes, causing the dragon to let out a pained roar, before shattering into a cloud of pixels.

 **Kai-LP 3700**

"And I'll call an end to my turn there." Miko announced, as his monster returned to his field.

"You're not bad at all Miko." Kai had a smile on his face, as he drew his next card. "Alright, I'll start my turn off with Pot of Greed." The Obelisk smiled when he saw his two new cards. "Alright, I'll play Banner of Courage first. With this on the field, every time I declare an attack, all my monsters get a boost of two hundred points. But that's just during my battle phase. But after that, I'll summon Assault Wyvern in attack mode."

When Kai placed the card onto the field, a solid blue scaled dragon with crescent moon shaped wings materialized onto his field.

Assault Wyvern **Atk-1800**

"Oh this is good." Yuki began, having returned with his own bucket of popcorn. "Well not good for Miko."

"But good for Kai?" Alexis had taken a handful of popcorn from Yuki's bucket.

Yuki nodded in response. "With the way Kai has his field set up, we'll see Blue Eyes back on the field really soon."

Assault Wyvern **Atk-2000**

"Alright Assault Wyvern, exterminate that insect!" At that order, the new dragon let a stream of air out of its mouth that shredded Armored Hornet.

 **Miko-LP 3800**

"Oh, and then there's my Assault Wyvern's special effect." A smile formed on Kai's face as he discarded his dragon. "When my dragon inflicts damage, I can tribute it to special summon a dragon monster from my graveyard. So let's give a warm re-welcome to Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Once again, Kai's graveyard glowed bright white, and with a familiar roar, the white scaled dragon was back on Kai's field once again.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"Now go Blue Eyes!" Blue Eyes roared once again. "Direct attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3200**

Blue Eyes roared, letting out a blast of energy from its mouth that knocked Miko to the ground.

 **Miko-LP 600**

"Woah, that was an impressive strategy." Alexis blinked away the flash in front of her eyes due to Blue Eyes attack.

"Tell me about it." Yuki was also rapidly blinking his eyes, and was considering wearing sunglasses whenever he dueled against Kai … or whenever he summoned his own Blue Eyes. "I would love to use that card, but I don't have it."

"Seriously?" Fujin asked while also taking a handful of popcorn from Yuki's bucket. "All the lucky card pulls you get, and _that's_ the one card that you don't have?"

"Looks like it." He shrugged and chuckled before munching on a handful of popcorn.

"Okay… is it my turn now…?" Miko let out a groan as he got back to his feet. He too was blinking rather rapidly, while trying to get the flash out of his eyes.

"Yup, your turn now." Kai affirmed, having ended his turn after his Blue Eyes attacked.

Miko let out another groan, and stretched a bit, before drawing his next card. "Okay, well I'll start by activating my trap card; Call of the Haunted, and I'll bring back my Armored Hornet!"

Miko's monster buzzed angrily at Kai's dragon when it came back to the field.

Armored Hornet **Atk-1800**

"But I'm not done there. You want to know what's better than one Armored Hornet?" Miko asked, selecting a card in his hand. "Two Armored Hornets!"

A second large angry looking insect appeared next to the first.

Armored Hornet **Atk-1800**

"Alright, time to feel my hornets sting again blue eyes!" Miko said, while his two insect monsters buzzed louder. "Attack Kai's monsters! Stinger Strike!"

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-1500**

Again, Blue Eyes gave an anguished cry before it shattered.

 **Kai-LP 3400**

The second hornet sunk its stinger into Kai's face down monster, which caused Miko's stomach to drop when he saw it was yet another White Stone of the Ancients.

"Oops." Kai said rather confidently. "Did I do that? Oh well, you know what happens now?"

Miko sighed in resignation. "Blue Eyes is coming back."

"Hey, don't get so down on yourself." Kai said, as Miko slid his last card into his duel disk. "You're a good duelist."

"But I can't get past your-" Miko began, before he was cut off.

"Only one other person has gotten past them." Kai pointed up to the terrace at Yuki. "And he's right there."

Yuki tried to duck behind his popcorn when his friend pointed him out.

"But, let's get back to the duel." Kai said, as once again his Blue Eyes materialized onto his field. "Okay, Blue Eyes time to put this to an end. Attack one of those Armored Hornets! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3200**

Kai's dragon roared, and let loose a stream of energy from its mouth aiming for one of the hornets. Believing this duel to be over, Kai was ready to walk back to the cafe.

"Kai! I'm not done yet!" Miko yelled which got the Obelisk's attention.

 **Miko-LP 3800**

"But… how…?" Kai was rather dumbfounded … until he got a look at Miko's face down card that was now flipped face up.

"Draining Shield!" Miko smiled. "I just negated your attack, and added your Blue Eyes' attack to my life points!"

"That kid has one hell of a poker face." Fujin had an appreciative look on her face.

"Yeah, and he regained almost all of his life points in one move." Alexis said while taking another handful of popcorn from out of Yuki's bucket. "And he completely baited Kai into it."

"Alright, my turn then." Miko said, as he drew his next card. And a second later, a smirk crossed his face. "I sacrifice both of my Armored Hornets, and summon Buster Blader!"

All of the Obelisks watching the duel gasped in shock. Everyone had thought Miko only played insects, and was not expecting him to summon Buster Blader.

Buster Blader **Atk-2600**

"And you know about his special effect right? That he gets an additional five hundred points for every dragon on your field or graveyard!"

Buster Blader **Atk-4600**

"Oh, Kai is in trouble." Yuki's popcorn bucket was now empty, but fortunately Dorothy was passing him at that exact moment, so he swapped his empty bucket for a new one.

"Alright Buster Blader, time to slay that dragon!" The warrior monster, charged at Blue Eyes, and split the dragon down the middle with its large blade.

 **Kai-LP 1800**

"And that does it for my turn." Miko said, having no other cards to set onto his field.

"Alright then." Kai said while drawing his next card. "I play the spell card Card of Demise. It lets me draw five cards, but after five turns pass, I have to discard my entire hand." A smile crossed the Obelisk's face as he saw what he drew. "Alright, I'll start with this. By revealing a Blue Eyes in my hand, I can summon this; Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

"Alternative?" Miko asked.

Yuki inhaled through his teeth. He'd faced down this particular dragon before, and knew what was coming. "Oh boy…"

The dragon let out a roar as it appeared behind Kai.

Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But I'm not done there. At least not with this particular dragon." Kai's smile brightened. "By sacrificing this dragon's attack, I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field!"

Miko shielded his eyes this time, and when he opened them his warrior monster was gone, which left his field completely empty.

"But I'm not done there! I activate the spell cards Ancient Rules, which allows me to special summon one higher level Light attribute monster to my field. Like this, my second Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Miko gulped rather nervously at the appearance of the third Blue Eyes of the duel. It let out a roar, as it too landed behind Kai.

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"But I have one more card left to play." Kai said as he held up Monster Reborn. "Guess you know where this is going, so I'll just skip ahead, and bring my third Blue Eyes back!"

Blue Eyes White Dragon **Atk-3000**

"You're good Miko. Really good, and if you duel like you did today, you'll come away with that blue jacket. But right now, this duel is over. Direct attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!" Kai's remaining two Blue Eyes roared, and their combined attacks hit the insect using Ra, wiping out the rest of his life points.

 **Miko-LP 0000**

* * *

"I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that Miko wins his duel tomorrow." Kai's duel with Miko had ended hours ago, and the Ra had returned to his dorm to work on his deck before his promotion duel.

Everyone was just sitting in one of the common areas of the Blue dorm. Yuki and Fujin were having a small pick up duel on one of the tables. Yumei was going over a Monster World book, looking for ways to better improve her warrior whenever the next opportunity to play presented itself, and Alexis was looking over her shoulder very curious about the table top game.

Yuki was so wrapped up in his duel with Fujin, he didn't register that his PDA was beeping with a notification. At least until Kai got his attention.

"Uh, Yuki… you gonna answer that?" Kai pointed to Yuki's PDA.

"Whoops." Grabbing the device, Yuki's eyes widened and he quickly scrambled to find the remote to the large TV on the wall behind Kai.

"Yuki? What's going on?" Alexis had fixed her not-just-yet-boyfriend with a curious look.

"You guys are going to want to see this!" Yuki said, turning the TV on and synching his PDA to the device. It showed a duel at North Academy, that had just wrapped up. And everyone recognised one of the duelists, as someone who had left Duel Academy.

"Chazz?" Alexis sounded shocked, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped her a few seconds later, as Chazz was in a crumpled heap.

"So he went to North Academy huh?" Kai let out an angered huff, as he still hadn't forgiven the former Obelisk for what he did to Bastion's deck. "But who's the guy with the microphone?"

Kai had pointed to another North Academy student on the screen with short hair, who wore a Stone Cold Steve Austin shirt of his dark jacket, and was sitting on the barricade that separated the crowd from the duelists.

 _"Chazz Princeton, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me. I want you to digest this because before the School Duel in three weeks, I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest." Jackson grinned._

 _"I don't hate you, Chazz. I do dislike you, but I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people at this Academy. No, what I hate is this idea that you're the best. Because you're not. I'm the best." Jackson pointed to his chest as he spoke, getting cheers from the crowd with his words._

 _"There's one thing you're better at than I am, and that's kissing Chancellor Foster's ass. You're as good as kissing Foster's ass as Czar was." As Jackson spoke, he noticed one of the arena's camera men approaching for a close-up of his monologue. He smiled into the camera._

 _"Whoops! I'm breaking the fourth wall!" He grinned and waved before continuing._

 _"I am the best duelist here. I've been the best ever since day one when I walked into this academy. And I've been vilified and hated since that day, because Pauline Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit." Jackson smiled, referencing the devisive dean of students at North Academy. This comment didn't get a very favorable response from the crowd, and Jackson smiled in response._

 _"That's right, I'm a Pauline Heyman guy! You know who else was a Pauline Heyman guy? Lucien Grimley. And he split just like I'm splitting. But the biggest difference between me and Grim is I'm going to leave here as an Undefeated Champion!"_

 _Jackson paused for a second to let the crowd chant "Dragon Lord! Dragon Lord!", giving him time to collect his thoughts before continuing._

 _"I've grabbed so many of Chancellor Foster's brass rings that it's finally dawned on me that they're, they're all completely imaginary. Every promise he's ever made he flaked on. To me, to my friends, and especially to everyone who actually enjoys watching this clown show every week! The only thing that's real is me and the fact that day in and day out, for almost a year, I have proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in a duel, even in commentary! Nobody can touch me!" Jackson paused for another applause, lowering his voice slightly before addressing the crowd directly._

 _"And yet no matter how many times I prove it, I'm not on your lovely little collector cups. I'm not on the cover of the program. I'm barely promoted. I'm not on the poster for the show. I'm not being used to draw in more students. I'm not on the signature that's produced at the start of the show. I'm barely known to anyone outside of this academy, but the fact of the matter is, I should be no matter how I feel about that fame because I AM the best." Jackson continued, leveling his gaze at Chazz, who'd now sat up and was rubbing his head._

 _"And trust me, this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that you're in the main event of the School Duel this year and I'm not makes me sick!"_

 _Jackson turned to the crowd, smirking as they cheered him on._

 _"I'm leaving with my undefeated streak and my legacy in tact after the School Duel in three weeks. And hell, who knows, maybe I'll take my deck and fight elsewhere. Maybe… maybe I'll jump ship to Duel Academy?" Jackson turns back to the cameraman closest too him and smiles, waving for another Fourth Wall Break. "Hey there Yuki Hyoudou. How you doing?"_

 _The crowd in the stands laughed and cheered him again, chanting "Dragon Lord!" Again and again. Until Jackson turned his attention to them once again._

 _"Oh hey, let me get something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now, you are just as big a part of me leaving as anything else. Because you're the ones who are sipping on those collector cups right now. You're the ones that buy those programs that my face isn't on the cover of. And you're gonna keep doing it long after I'm done here! After I'm gone, you're still going to pour money into this poor excuse for an academy. I'm just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is going to keep turning and I understand that." Jackson grinned and took a breath. It was time for him to deliver his true pipebomb of the night._

 _"This machine, this product that Foster's made for himself? With it in his pocket Foster is going to make money despite himself. He's a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why he's not a billionaire? Because he surrounds himself with glad-handed, nonsensical, douchebag yes men who're going to tell him everything he wants to hear. I know it's dark but I'd like to think that maybe this academy will be better after Foster resigns and retires to his private island in the Caribbean but the fact is, it's going to be taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family!"_

 _Jackson hopped up and stood on the barricade, holding his duel disk and pointing to it before continuing._

 _"On anyone else's arm, this is just a duel disk. On mine, it's a pipebomb. And from now until when I leave in three weeks, I'm going to blow up as much crap as I can!"_

"Woah…" Kai let out a low whistle at Jackson's words. "That was nuts…"

"School Duel?" The twins fixed everyone else with a curious look.

"It's what you think it is." Fujin answered. "It's an inter-academy duel between us and North Academy. Only this year things are going to be a little different. At least according to Dr. Crowler and Chancellor Sheppard."


	28. Chapter 28

"So what's exactly different about the School Duel this year?" Yumei asked, while Kai and Yuki re-watched Jackson's pipebomb promo. "And how come we haven't heard of any changes up until now?"

Fujin paused for a moment before speaking. "Well there's normally just one duel between the best student of either academy. And for the last two years, that's been Zane."

Yume let out a small amused chuckle. "That doesn't surprise me."

"Right? I might be called the OTK Queen, but I would never want to duel Zane." Fujin shook her head as a shudder went down her back at that thought. "Just because I know how to counter his Power Bond/Cyber Dragon strategy, doesn't mean I could counter it when the moment comes. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. This year, from what Crowler and Shepphard said, there's going to be three duels. A tag duel, and two single duels. One of those duels is going to be between the captain of the tag duel."

"And the last singles duel is between the two best from either school?" Yumei's question was received by a nod from the purple haired Obelisk.

"Bingo. And there's something else. North Academy is planning on using first year students. And…" She turned her attention back to the screen where the two boys were constantly rewinding Jackson's little speech.

" _And trust me this isn't sour grapes, but the fact that you're in the main event of the School Duel this year, and I'm not makes me sick!"_

"And from what he's been saying." Fujin continued, while gesturing to the TV screen. "It looks like Chazz will be representing North Academy as their strongest student.

"Well, that's gonna be an easy duel." Yumei scoffed, now invested in Jackson's speech. He turned and waved into the camera, once again breaking the fourth wall.

" _Hey there Yuki Hyoudou. How you doing?"_

"Hey, hear that?" Kai lightly shook Yuki's shoulder.

Yuki laughed, and brushed Kai's hand off his shoulder good naturedly. "But some things Jackson said, raise a few questions."

Kai fixed his friend with a curious look. "Things like what?"

Yuki began ticking off things from Jackson's promo on his fingers. "Says he's barely promoted, not on any of the merchandise, or even the cover of the show. Since when does the academies put on shows? What, is this stuff marketed like professional wrestling?"

"Yes." Both Kai and Fujin said in unison, which made the wins blink in shock before Fujin spoke up.

"Dueling, especially professional dueling, is more popular than professional wrestling. Think of the pro dueling circuits like…" The purple haired Obelisk paused for a moment, trying to find the right way to explain things. "They're like the shows that WWE puts on, and the duels that take place at the academies, are sort of like that companies developmental program."

"You're talking about NXT." Yumei supplied.

Nodding quickly, Fujin continued. "Exactly, we're like NXT. And despite the academies being the pro dueling circut's version of developmental, there's a certain demand for it. Which is why a lot of the duels are filmed. That's why you have entrance music Yuki. Well, that and whoever is sponsoring you."

"Wait what?" Both twins looked at Fujin, then to one another, then back to Fujin.

"I have a sponsor!?" Yuki managed to sputter out.

"Well you obviously do." Fujin reached for Yuki's PDA. "Your sponsor, or plural is how you continue to have that entrance music whenever you begin a duel." She searched through Yuki's PDA, until finding what she was looking for. And upon finding it, her eyes went wide. "Woah…"

"What?" Yuki looked over her shoulder, and his jaw dropped. Fujin had found an icon that Yuki didn't know about, one that read **SPONSORS**. And the Kaiba Corp logo was right at the top of the list, right underneath his family logo of Hyoudou Games. "I… what… how…?"

"Oh damn." Kai made a sound between a scoff and a laugh. "Well, you did say that Kaiba was your teacher. But do you ever have a big paycheck coming."

"What!?" Yuki nearly fell over at that. He wheeled about, looking at his friend in absolute shock. "I'm getting paid!?"

"Yeah." Kai chuckled, straightening his friend who looked like he was going to fall over in shock. "See how it works, is the more sponsors you have, or how important they are, the more you get paid."

"And that's only part of it." Fujin supplied. "You're also paid for your merchandise sales. Like that shirt you two wear to the ring."

The twins looked at the shirt that Yuki was wearing. The one that Yuri had sent him before his promotion duel to the Ra dorm.

"I get paid for this?" Yuki's voice went up a few octaves, while he pointed to his shirt.

"Yup-woah easy buddy!" Kai caught Yuki, as his legs suddenly gave way. He guided his friend to the seat that Yuki had previously occupied. "I know it's a shock."

"That's an understatement…" Yumei sounded just as faint as Yuki looked.

"Yeah, it was a shock to the two of us when we found out too." Kai had placed a bottle of water into Yuki's hand. "Anyways, let's get back to what you were talking about. Jackson's leaving North Academy because of Chancellor Foster's poor booking." Kai brought out his PDA, typing away at it for a few moments. "Oh come on, that's just not fair." Catching the curious look of his three other friends, Kai explained his findings. "I'm following Jackson and his duels, and I've been following him since before his time at North Academy. He hasn't lost a single duel, so he's like the two of you." He said in regards to the twins.

Yumei could only exhale, and shake her head. "Okay that is unfair. An undefeated duelist shouldn't be getting shafted like that. Alright, one more question. Does one's ranking at the academy affect their sponsorships?"

"That's pretty much exactly how it works." Fujin said, before explaining further. "An Obelisk student will have the most sponsors. A Ra will have a handful, whereas a Slifer would be lucky to land one."

"That explains why people are so eager for promotion duels." Yuki was still shaking, as he took a sip from his water bottle. "And why most Obelisks are snobs."

"Yeah, most of them are trust fund babies, who think just because of mommy and daddy's money, and the big sponsorships, that they're better than everyone else. Most of them went to duel prep school, and got into Obelisk the easy way, instead of earning the blue jacket." There was an irritated note in Kai's voice. "And when I'm the Chancellor of Duel Academy, that's all gonna change."

"Alright, one more thing." Yuki spoke up, a small smile on his face. "If this whole thing is very close to professional wrestling, would that make me the Adam Cole." He held up his hands in a loose interpretation of Adam Cole's in ring pose. "Bay-Bay, of Obelisk?"

Kai let out a snort, that turned into a laugh. "With your music, shirt, and catch phrase, you're more like Seth Rollins."

"I can live with that."

* * *

The main dueling arena had filled up to near capacity. While it wasn't a duel involving one of the two Hyoudou twins, the hype surrounding Miko who was a rising star amongst the students was enough to fill the arena. And because of said hype, this duel was going to be filmed.

"I never even would have noticed those cameras." Yuki looked up at the ceiling, and then to the sides of the dueling arena where no duelist would notice the cameras.

"Yeah, they're pretty sophisticated." Kai said, munching on a large bucket of popcorn that he had gotten from Dorothy. "Should be a good duel. Though I wonder who Miko's opponent is."

"Just hope it isn't Zane." Yuki shuddered at the thought of that. Having to duel Zane to get into Obelisk. But he nearly jumped out of his seat, when he heard Zane speak up from behind him.

"It's not me." Zane chuckled at seeing Yuki go rigid. "Sorry, didn't know you'd freak out like that."

"Well now you know." Yuki let out a sigh as he slumped into his seat, while Alexis got into the seat next to Yuki.

The excited chatter died down when Dr. Crowler made his way onto the main dueling platform, a microphone in his hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, the following duel will be held under promotion stipulations. Should the challenger emerge victorious, he will immediately be promoted to Obelisk Blue! Introducing first…!"

Everyone jumped when flames erupted up from behind the barricade. Slow chemical by Finger Echoed about the arena, being broadcast by the arena's speakers. An Obelisk Blue boy with bright red hair made his way out towards the main platform, while being announced by Dr. Crowler.

"Char Redgrave!" Crowler's announcement made the majority of the Obelisks cheer, when Char stepped onto the platform. He slowly raised his arms above his head, and quickly brought them down. As he did, more flames erupted from behind the barrier. Though the students watching the duel were safe, as the pyrotechnic display was a good ten feet away.

"Looks like Duel Academy has its own big red machine." Yumei chuckled at her little joke, to which Fujin joined in.

"You should see the other guy." Fujin's comment made Yumei sputter. The implications as to what Fujin had just said, made her head spin.

"There is no way…!"

Fujin gave Yumei a thumbs up, causing the other girl's mouth to hang open as Char's music died down. They all knew who was next to enter.

"And introducing, from the Ra dorms…!"

Spotlights began to flash, and came to a combined focus on the entrance tunnel as Miko stepped out. Twelve Stones' Anthem for the Underdog had begun playing over the arena's speakers, and the Ra's and Slifer's cheered so loud, the windows outside the main arena rattled.

"Miko Miazaki!" Crowler announcing the insect using Ra made the Slifer and Ra students cheer even louder, as Miko made his way to the main dueling platform. Both duelists shook hands, as Miko's music continued to play.

"Rematch time huh?" Kai was leaning forward in his seat, as he clearly remembered the duel between the two the previous semester.

"Duelists, prepare for battle!" Crowler spoke into his microphone, his right arm raised into the air. "Ready…"

Both Miko and Char activated their duel disks at the same time.

"Duel!"

 **Char-LP 4000**

 **Miko-LP 4000**

"Since it's your promotion duel." Char had a smooth baritone voice. "You can draw first."

Miko smiled, and took his sixth card. "Thanks, and I'll start things off with a monster in face down defense position, and a card face down. A basic move, but that'll do it for my turn."

"I'll have to be careful." Char let out a shudder, recalling when he fell victim to Needle Worm, and then Man-Eater Bug the turn after. "I am not taking any chances. So here's how this is gonna go down. I'll start off by playing Cost Down. By sending a card to the graveyard, I reduce the summoning cost of one of my monsters. So, welcome to the field, Summoned Skull!"

Lightning struck the field in front of Char, and a skeletal fiendish creature rose from where the lightning bolts hit.

Summoned Skull **Atk-2500**

"Ah, and there's no other way to go about it so…" Char shrugged, before giving the order to his monster. "Summoned Skull, attack that face down monster! Lightning Strike!"

Summoned Skull snarled, and hurled a ball of lightning at Miko's face down monster. The creature shattered into a cloud of pixels, revealing a translucent looking grasshopper was what was destroyed by Char's monster.

"Glad you did that." Miko smiled, holding up his monster. "Because that was my Pinch Hopper. And when that's destroyed, I can special summon an insect monster to my field. So meet my Insect Queen!"

Everyone around the arena shuddered when the spider-like insect materialized onto Miko's field.

Insect Queen **Atk-2500**

"Oh and if you remember her effect, she gets stronger for every insect monster on my field … including herself." Miko reminded Char, as Insect Queen's effect took hold.

Insect Queen **Atk-2800**

"I remember her." Char shuddered as he got a look at Miko's monster, while slotting a card into his duel disk. "So I'll end things with a face down card." That card appeared behind Summoned Skull as Char ended his turn.

"My turn then." Miko drew and assessed his hand. ' _I can't attack Summoned Skull without tributing one of my insect monsters. But I can take it out with this!'_ "Alright, I summon my Armored Hornet in attack mode!" Angry buzzing was heard, as the large hornet appeared next to Insect Queen, which in turn caused Insect Queen to grow stronger.

Insect Queen **Atk-3100**

Armored Hornet **Atk-1800**

"Looks like Miko's field is set." Zane nodded in approval. "Armored Hornet will cut Summoned Skull's attack in half, and then Insect Queen will be able to attack directly."

"Alright, Armored Hornet, show Summoned Skull why people are afraid of bees! Attack with Stinger Strike!" The hornet shot forward, stinger outstretched.

"I would hold onto that thought." Char held up a hand, as a dark Aura enveloped Miko's monster.

"Huh, what's going on?" Miko's eyes were wide with confusion, before a red and blue fiend appeared behind Armored Hornet.

"That's my Archfiend of Gilfer." Char explained with a smile on his face. "When he's sent to the graveyard, he becomes an equip card that lowers one of my opponent's monster's attack by five hundred points!"

Armored Hornet **Atk-1300**

"But that's still not enough." Miko said rather confidently, which caused Char to blink in shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"My Armored Hornet will still beat out Summoned Skull due to its effect!" Miko revealed. "Armored hornet, continue your attack! Stinger Strike!"

Summoned Skull **Atk-1250**

Armored Hornet plunged its stinger into Summoned Skull, who after a pained screech, promptly melted.

 **Char-LP 3950**

"With only fifty points of a difference, Miko won the exchange." Alexis sounded impressed.

"But he's not done there." Yuki supplied. "He still has Insect Queen."

"And now, by tributing my hornet, Insect Queen can attack directly!" the weakened hornet vanished, and the large female spider spat acid at Char, which covered the Obelisk, and melted away a good chunk of his life points.

 **Char-LP 1150**

"Impressive. Kid almost won there." Zane nodded his approval.

"Yeah, but Char still has life in him." Kai countered, as Char's turn began.

The red haired Obelisk drew his next card, and slid another card into his duel disk. Insect Queen was promptly destroyed by a large hammer, which made Miko jump back in shock.

"What just happened!?" Miko sputtered, lifting up the hair that fell in front of his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly.

"It was my spell card; Hammer Shot." Char held up the card in question. "It destroys one monster on the field with the highest attack. And in this case, that's your Insect Queen. Or at least it was."

"So much for that." Miko sighed, sending his monster to the graveyard.

"Well, if you like that, you're gonna love this." Char selected another card, and slid it into his duel disk. "The continuous spell card Soul Absorption. See, when cards get banished, I gain five hundred points. And then I'll summon a monster you're all too familiar with; Balrog, in attack mode!"

The fiery looking fiend growled at Miko as it appeared on Char's side of the field. It growled at the insect user, clearly having remembered their last duel.

Balrog **Atk-1000**

"And thanks to his effect, he gains five hundred points per fiend on my field!"

Balrog **Atk-1500**

Char smirked, as he entered his battle phase. "Alright Balrog, let's even the score! Direct Attack!"

The fiendish monster made to slash Miko across the chest, but was intercepted by an armored stinger. The sound of angered buzzing filled the arena, as Armored Hornet reappeared on the field.

"Sorry Char, but I had Call of the Haunted laying in wait! And with Armored Hornet back on the field…" Miko smirked, as Balrog's attack dropped.

Balrog **Atk-750**

"Counter attack, Stinger Strike!" Balrog was quickly melted by the poison in Armored Hornet's stinger.

 **Char-LP 150**

"So close!" Yuki was on the edge of his seat now, his own popcorn bucket forgotten.

"But Char doesn't look worried." Zane said in his usual calm tone. And Zane was right. Char didn't look worried at all. In fact, he looked happy.

"Glad you did that, because now I've got everything I need." Char said, while sending his monster to the graveyard. "Because now I'll remove the three fiends in my graveyard…"

"Oh shit…" Both Yuki and Alexis felt their stomachs drop, as they both cursed, realizing just what was about to happen. The two were flashing back to Halloween, when Yuki dueled the monster that Char was about to summon.

"To summon Dark Necrofear!" A black mist swirled about the field in front of Char, and a monster with blue colored skin, dressed in S&M gear, and carrying a broken doll in her arms appeared on Chars field.

Dark Necrofear **Atk-2200**

"And let's not forget about my Soul Absorption card." Char said, pointing to the continuous spell card on his field.

 **Char-LP 1650**

"But since that was my Main Phase two, I can't attack with Necrofear this turn." Char relented, calling an end to his turn.

Miko drew his next card, and a smile crossed his face. "Alright, I play Petite Moth, and equip it with the Superior Cocoon of Evolution!" The small moth, crawled into the cocoon on Miko's field that appeared next to Armored Hornet. "And now I'll attack Necrofear with Armored Hornet! And thanks to my monsters effect, her attack gets cut in half!"

Dark Necrofear **Atk-1100**

Necrofear let out a pained shriek, before she melted like the other three of Char's monsters.

 **Char-LP 950**

"Glad you did that." Char had a smirk on his face. "Because when Necrofear is destroyed, she becomes an equip card that allows me to take control of one monster on your field. And I'll take that hornet of yours."

A transparent version of Necrofear appeared on Char's field, and beckoned Armored Hornet over to Char's field.

"Fine by me, I'll just activate Insect Barrier and prevent you from attacking me with my hornet, and then I'll set a card face down." Miko set the card behind the cocoon, calling an end to his turn.

"Alright, well I'll start by activating another continuous spell card. Dimensional fissure." Char slid the card into his duel disk, causing a large purple rift to open up behind the Obelisk. "With this, all monsters that would be destroyed, are instead removed from the game!"

"Smart." Zane said. "That way, Char can get his life points back quicker."

"Alright, but I'll chain your spell card with DNA Surgery, and change all monsters summoned from now on to insects." Miko countered, flipping up his trap card, which caused Char to frown.

"Alright then, I'll summon Pandemonium Watchbear in defense mode." Char set the card horizontally onto his duel disk, which summoned a blood red furred bear wrapped in chains.

Pandemonium Watchbear **Def-1800**

"And that's where I'll call it a turn."

Miko nodded, and drew his next card before cracks began to form in the Cocoon. "Alright, thanks to my superior cocoon, my monster is able to hatch earlier! So come out Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!"

More cracks appeared in the cocoon, and soon the green furred moth unfurled its wings, and rose into the air in front of Miko.

Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth **Atk-3500**

"Nice, but don't forget about my Dimensional Fissure spell card." Char spoke up, as Miko's moth escaped its cocoon. "Since your Petite Moth and Cocoon of Evolution were both monsters, they get removed from play, which means I gain one thousand life points."

 **Char-LP 2650**

"That's fine, I'll just attack with my moth! Attack Armored Hornet!" Great Moth flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind that shattered Armored Hornet, and caused Necrofear to vanish as well.

 **Char-LP 1750**

"Not bad, but thanks to my continuous spell card, I'll get another thousand points back." Char smirked as his life points increased.

 **Char-LP 2750**

"Damn." Yumei cursed. "It's like his attack did nothing."

"Char won't go down without a fight." Kai was also on the edge of his seat, the same as Yuki as Char's turn started.

"Alright, my draw." Char smirked as he drew his next card. "I'll set a card face down, and call it a turn there." ' _All I need is him to attack my monster, and I'll have wiped out both of his strongest monsters!'_

Miko drew, and immediately played the card. "Pot of Greed, now I can draw two more cards." The insect duelist's eyes widened when he saw just what it was he drew. "Alright, I'll start things off by playing Monster Reborn, and bring Insect Queen back to the field!"

The spider like monster hissed angrily at Char as she appeared onto the field, and immediately grew stronger due to her effect, and Miko's use of DNA Surgery.

Insect Queen **Atk-3400**

"And I'll end my turn by setting a monster face down in defense position." Miko set the monster next to Insect Queen, who regarded it rather curiously.

' _Damn, I was hoping that he would take the bait… oh well.'_ Char then drew his next card, and smirked. "Alright, by sacrificing my Watchbear I can summon this! Mist Archfiend!"

 **Char-LP 3250**

Mist swirled in front of char, and a wicked looking fiend similar in appearance to Summoned Skull, although its lower half was all mist, and its chest looked like there was a fire lit inside of it, appeared on Char's field.

Mist Archfiend **Atk-2400**

Insect Queen **Atk-3700**

"You still can't attack my monsters thanks to my combo." Miko reminded him.

"I'm aware, and I'll be working on that soon enough." Char had a rather confident look on his face as he spoke.

"Well it's still my turn now." Miko said, while drawing his next card. "Yes… yes! It's over!"

Miko's outburst caused Char to blink in surprise. "Uh, care to enlighten me?"

"Sure, I'll start by summoning my second Armored Hornet!" Miko then set the card onto his duel disk, and angry buzzing filled the arena as Miko's second hornet appeared on his field.

Armored Hornet **Atk-1800**

Insect Queen **Atk-4200**

"Oh Char is in trouble now." Yumei had joined her twin, and ws now on the edge of her seat. She could sense when a game ending combo was about to happen, and Miko's declaration of ending the duel only made her all the more excitedly.

"And next, I'll flip up my face down monster … Man-Eater bug!"

"Oh crap…" Char groaned.

Insect Queen **Atk-4700**

"And due to his effect, I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field … like your face down card!" Miko pointed to Char's face down card, which promptly shattered. He let out a relieved sigh, when he saw that he had seriously dodged a bullet by destroying Yomi Ship, which would have destroyed the monster that destroyed it during the battle phase.

 **Char-LP 3700**

"Armored Hornet, attack that Archfiend with Stinger Strike!"

The hornet charged forward, stinger out as its effect took hold.

Mist Archfiend **Atk-1200**

As before, Char's monster melted when it was stung by Armored hornet, before it shattered.

 **Char-LP 2900**

Though due to Char's continuous spell card, his life points went up after his monster was removed from play.

 **Char-LP 3400**

Insect Queen **Atk-4200**

Miko then turned his attention to Yuki. "You mind if I borrow your line?"

Yuki had the biggest smile on his face, and gave the Ra a thumbs up. "Do it!"

"Great Moth, Insect Queen!" Miko began, while sacrificing his Man-Eater Bug so his Insect Queen could attack. "Burn it down!"

Miko's two insect monsters through a combined attack of a gust of wind and a spray of acid wiped out the rest of Char's life points.

 **Char-LP 0000**

The Ra's and Slifer's erupted into cheers as Miko was declared the winner of the duel. He and Char shook hands, and the fiend using Obelisk promptly raised Miko's arm into the air … before he was lifted into the air by the Hyoudou twins who had rushed the stage.

* * *

"Does she always hug like that…?" Miko groaned, having just gotten out of one of Fujin's hugs.

"Yeah, I would get used to that." Yuki chuckled, handing Miko a bag of ice for his ribs. "I swear her mother is Wonder Woman."

"Or she's related to Brock Lesnar…" The two shared a laugh, before Miko winced. "Oh god, it hurts to laugh…"


End file.
